


It Draws Us Together

by TiredMage909



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Daryl is emotionally constipated but he's working on it, Glenn and Carl and Eric live!, M/M, Multi, No Smut, Not really an AU but it does stray from Canon, Paul is a flirt, Pre-Slash, Slash, They do make out though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-09-16 23:16:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 33,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16963335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiredMage909/pseuds/TiredMage909
Summary: They didn't have a choice - they had to run. Now they were trying to pick up the pieces and while Daryl knew it wasn't going to be easy (it never was), he knew he had people he could count on. Paul included.





	1. Intro

6 days ago, they’d been cut off from The Hilltop. 6 days ago, the tide had turned and Negan, the leader of the so-called Saviors, was now sitting behind the big desk in Barrington House, basking in his victory. It happened so quickly – one moment they were gearing up for the siege they knew was coming and the next, it was on their doorstep. The guards at the gate and on the wall barely had time to shout before the wooden barrier beneath them was blown to pieces and they were thrown, shredded, to the ground. From there, the Saviors tore into the community. Oddly enough though, Negan had ordered them to not kill anyone else; they were to either round them up or let them go. That’s when Maggie looked at the others and told them to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: these characters belong to the creators, I'm just playing with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Since then they hadn’t stopped. They’d run through an endless maze of overgrown fields and blocked roads and rested in burned out houses and churches that smelled like sin. People were starting to drag, and Daryl wasn’t sure what the point of all this was. Maggie, maybe 7 months pregnant with a hand always at her belly, was at the lead with Rick, while Glenn, Michonne, Daryl and Jesus – Paul - trailed close by. They’d pull out maps every so often, but never seemed to pick any sort of heading. At one point, about 2 days back, Daryl noticed they were going around in a wide circle; he must have noticed it at the same as Maggie and Rick because he nearly ran into their backs. Maggie looked so dejected that he didn’t say anything. Rick didn’t look any better, and just pulled Michonne into him. Carl, with Judith on his hip, joined them soon after and from there, everything went to shit. People started whispering, saying they should have stayed and fought. Some of the Hilltoppers started talking about breaking off into separate groups. Now, they’d been in the same place for almost a full day; they were camped along the tree line of a football field at the back of what was once a high school. The building itself was burned out, most of it anyways, and the turf of the field was brown and dead; folks had started wandering, up and down the rusted bleachers, back and forth between the blackened goalposts. They hadn’t seen a walker since they left the Hilltop and that was worrying; was this area so dead that reanimated corpses wouldn’t even inhabit it? There was a large sign still standing at the entrance to the filed which only said, ‘Welcome to River Valley High Recreation Area’ but other than that, no one knew where they were. And by the look Maggie wore when she called him over, Daryl could tell the maps they were pouring over weren’t much help.

“Alright,” she said, her voice dripping with exhaustion, “as far as we can tell, we’re nowhere special. This map is local so based on the location of the high school, we’re in a town called River Valley and in its prime the population was only about 450. That said though, it’s a pretty big area, we’ve been in it pretty much since we started out.” At that, she looked grim. “We’d never been this far out before, and we haven’t hit the center of town yet, so I’m hoping they’ll be stores and such to go through. Other than that, there’s nothing much around here. This town is basically it, then there’s miles of fields.” This revelation was both a blessing and a curse. Fields meant fewer people, usually, but also fewer places to hide. 

“You haven’t told them the best part yet.” Glenn said. He looked so much older now, Daryl barely recognized him. The grin on his face was a welcome relief. “There’s a hospital on the other side of town.” Daryl knew that Glenn didn’t think there were people or that they’d find help there; he was only thinking of Maggie and the baby. But Daryl couldn’t help but want to shake him – do you know how many dead could be in that place? Rick looked like he wanted to do the same. 

 

Maggie seemed to know what they were thinking. “We know it’s a risk,” she said, “one we’re only going to take if everything else is clear. But if there’s really no one around, that place could be a gold mine. None of the equipment would be usable, of course, but maybe we could hunker down for a bit. Collect some medicine, blankets. We can check the school out too.” She was hopeful, and part of Daryl hated her for it. All the shit they’d been through and she had time to hope? 

Rick looked thoughtful. “We could give it a try,” he said. It sometimes amazed Daryl how quickly the man changed; from wary to cocky and back again in under a minute. That was the only thing that was ever sure, other than the Georgian accent that still hung from some of their lips. 

“How do y’all plan to get all these people into a place like that, even if there ain’t dead wandering around the place?” Daryl knew he was playing Devil’s Advocate, but he couldn’t help himself. Someone had to do it now that Abraham was gone.

“Well, that’s the thing,” Maggie said, “we were thinking about heading toward The Kingdom and circling back. There ain’t many left there but I’m sure Carol and Ezekiel would help us out.” She was right about that. Even if Carol was down, she wouldn’t turn away Maggie in her state. And she’d drag Ezekiel along by his hair if she had to. “If everything goes to plan with that, anyone who wanted to stay there could.”

With that she looked out at the rest of her people, those from Hilltop. Most of them were in a large group, crowded around each other at the opposite end of the field. It was impossible to see what they were doing, but Daryl knew it wasn’t because they were cold. The sun was past noon but it was still stiflingly humid. Daryl looked over to Jesus – Paul, damnit – who had his long hair piled on top of his head. He was considering the group too.  


“I know these people,” he said, “half of those we have left are brave, and the other half are too smart to be brave.” He said it with a wry smile. “I’d say we’d lose half or more if we give them the option. As it is, they look like they’re already breaking away from us. It was easier for them to believe they’d be okay when they didn’t have to think about it.” He looked at Maggie “Those who stay will support you until you give them a reason not to.”

It was the right thing to say. Maggie was sniffling, but her face was clear for the first time in 6 days. This was the Maggie that Daryl knew from that train car in Terminus, the Maggie who refused to believe that Beth was gone and the Maggie who knew they would be okay. He wasn’t one for hoping, but he wanted to believe that they could stay this way, in limbo between it all and that something good was bound to cross their path. He was right not to hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the numbering is weird, and this is technically Chapter 1 after the Intro but for the sake of the numbering system here, it's Chapter 2.
> 
> Y'all might be able to tell, but this is my first work. I think it's good, and I'm pretty proud of it. That being said, I really want to know what you guys think. I tried to stay as true to the characters as possible, but if you guys see anything overtly OC or if you notice any other glaring errors, please don't hesitate to drop me a comment. The entire work is almost done at this point, but it still needs some editing, so I plan to upload a chapter or two a day. I hate waiting for updates so I don't want to make my readers wait either lol  
>  
> 
> Comments, Kudos and Queries are welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

“I think the hospital is a good plan. Or, at least a good a plan as any.” Paul said, looking back to Daryl. After their discussion, they drifted, Maggie and Glenn to a spot near the trees in the shade, and Rick and family to an area that still had some grass left, where they put Judith down for a short nap. The rest of their family were milling about nearby, not wanting to stray too far. Daryl and Paul were running the perimeter; they’d started to the left of Maggie and Glenn and were starting to circle the field clockwise. The trees made Daryl nervous, because he couldn’t see past them, but it also gave a sense of security. Anything coming through there would make so much noise that they couldn’t miss it. 

“I don’t like it,” Daryl said, “places like that tend to be shitholes.”  


“Well aren’t you Mr. Sunshine,” Paul shot back at him, with a playful grin. It was shit like that that pissed Daryl off the most – the comments and the flirting just like they were back at The Hilltop, just like nothing had changed. It shouldn’t piss him off, but it did, and Paul knew it.

“You think I gotta reason to be happy, man? We go running for our lives and now we’re stuck here with a bunch of folks who don’t know their ass from the firing end of a rifle.”  


Paul chuckled, “Well at least you have me. I know how to use a rifle and I have a great ass.” That set Daryl off blushing. The bastard.

Daryl could tell Paul wasn’t going to stop there. He rolled his eyes and was trying to think of a comeback when a shot rang out. Then another, immediately followed by a screeching noise that would have shattered glass. On the far end of the field, the people gathered there started going down, one by one as the living trampled each other to get away from the horde of dead that were making their way out of what they had thought was an empty high school gymnasium. They would learn later that the screeching noise had come when the door holding the walkers back had finally given way; dozens of walkers, with fire damage working in their favor, had been pushing for months trying to get out after someone had locked them in. The people at the back of the group, those facing the building, had noticed the doors start to bow, and instead of trying to alert the others, they started shooting. That only quickened the walkers work, and by the time anyone really knew what was happening, people were being ripped apart. Some managed to break away, only to be enveloped again. 

Before he could even blink, Daryl was barreling toward the group, with Paul right behind him. He saw Rick too, out of the corner of his eye, hustling Judy into Michonne’s arms before running to join. He had his bow, a pistol and two hunting knives, Paul had his knives, plus whatever else he always kept hidden away, and Rick had a rifle, his pistol and his hands. It wasn’t much but Daryl couldn’t just stand by. He was within feet of the first few walkers when even more started to pour out of the auditorium – his original estimate of maybe 100 or so walkers was very, very low. The entire town must have been in there. Paul and Rick clocked the rest of the walkers shortly after Daryl did and very nearly stumbled to a stop. 

“We gotta go,” Daryl said, “we can’t do nothin’ for ‘em now.” He hated to say it, but they couldn’t stay here. Rick knew it too, and barely had time to nod his assent before he took off back toward his family. Daryl looked to Paul too, to make sure they were on the same page; they were, even though Paul looked sad for it, and together they sped off after Rick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more for today, I can't help myself lol this is the chapter where we start to see more Desus. It definitely is a Desus fic as a whole but it's not really the main focus; you'll get a bit of Richonne, and some Gleggie and Aaric (I love them!) too. This is also the chapter where the canon typical violence starts, but nothing too graphic. Lastly, this chapter is pretty short. I was originally going to mush some chapters together but I think I'm going to leave it how I wrote it. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! And thank you to those who have sent feedback so far!


	4. Chapter 4

Once Daryl and Paul caught up to Rick, they herded those remaining into the trees. As they were running, Daryl took a moment to take stock: Rick, Glenn and Maggie were in the lead, with Carl running alongside Michonne, who had strapped Judy into her carrier and onto her back; Paul had dropped back to pick up the rear, with Rosita. Tara was in the middle with Enid, Aaron, Eric and baby Gracie, who was somehow still asleep. There were a few others too, those from Hilltop who had seen too much to be brave or stupid and had stuck close to the smaller of the two groups. From behind they could hear that some of the walkers were following them, choosing to go after fresh meat rather than settling for the remains of those in the field. Daryl could still hear screams; people being torn apart so slowly that their bodies didn’t know they were dead yet. It made his head swim; between the screams, the stench, and the sweat he could barely focus on where they were going. He looked up to find that they were almost at the opposite tree line. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been running, he’d lost track, but he could tell they were making headway – it was quieter here. 

Maggie and Glenn had already broken from the trees, Daryl could see, but they’d stopped. When he finally made it out, he could see why. There was a tall chain-link fence in front of them; Daryl thought groggily that this must be the rest of the recreation area. There were picnic tables and even a small swing set that had somehow survived that fire that had burned through the area. On the other side of the fence, secured onto it, was a sign facing the other direction. But there was no way out. 

“Shit, this must be the back end,” Glenn said. He looked toward the others. He hovered close to Maggie, whose face was pinched with exertion. Daryl doubted he or any of the others looked any better. They’d all come out into the open now, and he could see the faces of the others as they looked around.

“There’s got to be a way out somewhere around here,” Aaron said, “They wouldn’t put an area for children to play if there wasn’t an evacuation route.”

“They might, if it was a designated zone. Remember that playground in the Congo?” Eric said. The look Aaron gave him was something akin to frustration. “I’m just saying,” Eric continued, “we may circle for a mile before we find a gate. In places like this, it’s usually more about keeping stuff out then in.”

“Well we ain’t got time to wonder,” Daryl said, moving toward to the fence. He couldn’t hear much going on behind them, but that didn’t mean anything. He was getting antsy, he wanted to get everyone away.

“I’m not so sure,” Glenn said. His eyes hadn’t left Maggie. “If Eric’s right, we could be running into something even worse.”

Eric snorted, “I seriously doubt that. In a normal situation sure, but if someone had the presence of mind to lure those things in here and lock them up in the school, chances are the rest of the town is clear.” Even in the state they were in, Aaron looked proud. Daryl was going to have to ask them some time about the shit they got into before all this. 

“I think it’s our best plan,” Maggie said. “We can make for the hospital and stop anywhere interesting on the way.” At the mention of the hospital, Glenn’s eyes lit up, but Daryl could tell he still had his doubts. “What about the fence?” he said, “That’s not some little picket thing.” 

“We’ll make sure she gets over,” Paul said, coming up behind Daryl. He’d been surveying the area while they others had been talking. “I took a quick walk, and there’s nothing else to see. It’s either this part of the fence or the parts that are covered by the tress. Climbing a tree to get over might work for some of us, but I think our best bet here is to boost you up.” He looked at Maggie as he said this. “I’ll go over first so they’ll be someone there to catch you.” 

Both Glenn and Maggie looked relieved to hear this, but Daryl just about swallowed his tongue. He knew, of course, that Paul could handle himself, but it never stopped him from worrying. Paul seemed to sense this and leaned into him, just a comforting weight that brought Daryl back to the present. He looked around again and saw Rick staring at him. It wasn’t a bad stare, just a significant look that made Daryl blush and look down at his shoes. Because of this, he missed the other significant looks that both Glenn and Maggie and Aaron and Eric shared. 

Rick took pity on him. “Alright, y’all, let’s get moving. Jesus’ll go over first, then Maggie, and the rest with Daryl and myself taking up the rear. Climb as fast as you can but don’t risk falling.” With Rick’s words, everyone started moving; they picked up their meager belongings and started forming a line before the fence. It was like a switch had been flipped, and suddenly everyone was ready for whatever was waiting for them on the other side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 y'all! I'm planning to post this and Chapter 5 today. I really like these next few chapters, I think they flow really well so I'm excited to share them. Let me know what you think and thanks again to those who have already shared feedback!


	5. Chapter 5

Surprisingly, getting everyone over the fence had been easy. Paul had dropped to the back of the line, given Daryl a wink, and made a running start toward the fence. Everyone held their breath as he leapt; they should have known better than to down doubt him. Once he landed, he shimmed up the chain-link to the top where he swung over to the other side, went down maybe another few feet, and dropped gracefully onto the ground. It was impressive. Paul then signaled for Maggie to start her climb – Glenn gave her a boost and she climbed with remarkable speed to the top. Her decent down the other slide was slower but it went smoothly. She made it to the bottom with Paul’s help and Glenn, satisfied that his wife was safe, started his own climb. Enid and Carl followed Glenn, followed closely by Michonne with Judy on her back. Eric went next, carrying baby Grace to the top where he waited for Aaron to join him so they could switch off holding her while they each swung over the top. Once the three of them were on the ground, Rosita and Tara guided the rest of the Hilltoppers. Within a few minutes, Daryl and Rick were the only two still inside the fence. 

While watching the steady climb of his family, Daryl found it odd that none of the walkers from the football field had appeared yet. When they first started into the trees, they were definitely being followed; now it was as if they were alone. He wondered if they had found something in the trees more interesting to feed on. It was then that the groans started to fill the area; Daryl figures that they’d run for longer than he’d thought and that the slow shamblers were just starting to catch up. 

“Time to go,” Rick said, and started up the fence. He looked back to ensure Daryl was following, and they made their way up one after the other. When they dropped to the ground they both turned to look at the dead gathering where they’d just been standing. 

“Take a look that this,” Paul said. He was looking at the sign secured to the fence. It read: ‘As long as someone still lives within this boundary, a horn will sound at even intervals to lure the dead walking. Leave your loved ones behind and get out.’ 

“You were right,” Aaron said, looking between the sign and Eric. Eric smiled, “Thanks for the morbid compliment, honey.” That wrung a tired chuckle from Aaron, who kissed both Eric and baby Grace on the head in turn. He was right, and it was morbid, but it was probably the best decision this small town ever made. 

“Well, I supposed we should get moving,” Maggie said. She’s been sitting up against a tree since her climb; Daryl swore her belly had gotten bigger since then. She was pouring over the map of the town, where he could see that she’s circled several landmarks. “If we start out now, we should reach this convenience store before dark.” She handed the map to Rick, who titled it so the others could see too. “I’ve circled anything of interest. The hospital of course, and the convenience store I mentioned, but also a small corner store slash pharmacy and the only department store in the area. If we see any houses still intact, we can take a look at those too.” As she said this last part, she held her arms out to Glenn, her pulled her up. 

“How long do you think it’ll take us to get to the hospital?” He asked. Everyone knew this was his number one destination. His wife smiled at him. “If everything goes to plan,” she said, “within a few days. Trust me, I want to get there too.” 

Rick folded the map up and put his hands on his hips. “That convenience store sounds like a good place to start. Hopefully we can grab whatever food is left and find some water before we settle in for the night.” Here they go with hope again, Daryl thought.

“We should hit any cars we see too. I know we ain’t rearing to move out of here, but it can’t hurt to have a backup plan.” He said. 

Maggie and Glenn looked miserable at the thought of needing to leave in a hurry, but both agreed anyway. “We should make baby things a priority, too.” Michonne said. She looked at Maggie as she said it and nodded to both Judith and Baby Grace. “Some of the houses might be good for that.” She said it with pain in her voice, the kind of pain only someone who’d lost a child would understand. Rick nodded his agreement, so did Daryl, and Glenn nodded his thanks. This was the only thing Daryl could put any ounce of hope into: the children that would become the future. Well, that, and Paul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5! Let me know what you guys think - Comments are more than welcome!


	6. Chapter 6

As they made their way toward what would be there shelter for the night, the convenience store, two things were immediately clear. Within 5 minutes of walking down the narrow streets, Daryl was already sick of this town; it was, or had been at one point, cutesy. Every building left standing had decorations on the sides, tons of flower beds and those themed mailboxes. Most homes had garden gnomes and birdbaths. There were patios with barbeques and beach chairs and large picnic tables with big, colorful umbrellas. It was almost picturesque, the way the fire had been set outside of this area, leaving it intact. It must have been when the people in the area were still clinging to the hope that the dead walking was all just a bad dream. That was the first thing they noticed. The second was that there were no walkers in sight. There was blood on the sidewalks and splattered on sides of abandoned cars, and there were clothes and other belongings strews across lawns, but there no bodies, walking or otherwise. 

“This isn’t creepy at all,” Tara said as they walked past a mini-van with bloody handprints on the windows. 

“This reminds me of the Congo, too,” Eric said, looking around as they walked. Rick nodded, “Looks like anytime a military or police force has to take over. Maybe it was at the beginning, when people were still being brought to hospitals for treatment. They moved who they could and herded the rest out.” After he said it, he realized what he’d implied. “They could just have moved the bodies to the hospital, Mag. At that point, they were probably still trying to contain the infection.” 

Maggie put her hand on his arm. “I know what you meant Rick,” she said, “I doubt the hospital will be completely empty in any case.” She was putting on a brave face, but Daryl could tell she was terrified. Glenn could see it too. 

“If there are geeks, we’ll just clear them out.” Glenn said, reverting to the term he used for the dead way back in the beginning. “There are enough of us to do it,” Rosita added. She hadn’t spoken much since they started running, but she could tell Maggie needed reassuring. They could all tell, and Daryl saw Maggie’s eyes well at the gesture. “We’ll be alright.” She said. 

From there, it was the same. Still no bodies and still no walkers. When they got close, Maggie pointed out the convenience store. It was sitting at the start of the main street in town. The sign over the door said “River Valley Convenience, 24 Hr.” and it looked like the windows had been smashed. Even small towns weren’t protected against looters. 

Rick signaled for the group to stop three doors down from the store. “Daryl and I are gonna clear it before we do anything else,” he said, with finality. “Once we’re sure it’s empty, we’ll holler,” And with that, he stepped out. Daryl followed closely and even in the dusky light of early evening he could tell his shoulders were tense. Rick stopped on the left side of the door while Daryl went to the other side. The door had been smashed in, too, left hanging off its hinges, and they could see inside. Rick motioned for them to enter, and Daryl took point. They each walked around shelves filled with old bags of chips and cans of soda and met each other by the counter at the back of store. Behind the counter, they saw the first body they’d seen in days. It was a teen, maybe 16 or 17, who’d obviously been working there when shit hit the fan. He had a chunk taken out of his neck and bullet hole in his forehead. They checked the back room too, and upon confirming the entire store was empty, they beckoned the others. 

“Looks like we have a good spot,” Rick said, with a smile once everyone was inside. “There’s a body behind the counter so at least we know they didn’t sterilize the place. And the food may all be stale, but at least it’s something.” An audible sigh of relief passed through the group. Daryl felt himself sigh too, and he caught Paul smirking at him. 

“Never thought either one of us would be happy for a rundown store and some expired chips,” he said, grinning again as he tossed Daryl a bag of said chips. ‘Nah,” Daryl returned, “Put this shit back, gimme the salt and vinegar.” 

Paul laughed. “Wow, picky Mr. Dixon,” he said, switching out the bags and tossing the requested ones back. “What’s wrong with Doritos?”  
“That cheesy shit is gon’ be nasty now, if it was ever good before.” He said. 

He had to chuckle at the affronted look on Paul’s face. Before he could respond, Michonne called out. “That’s enough, children,” she said, but she was smiling. The others were smiling too, even those from Hilltop; including Paul, who directed his smile directly at Daryl. It made him want to weep. It was nice to have a quiet moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6! I'm planning to post chapter 7 as well today, and then more starting Monday. Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

After the others has settled in for the night, Daryl, Glenn, Rick and Paul were all sitting behind the back counter discussing next steps. Glenn had put Maggie to bed early, despite her protesting, in the back room of the store. There was extra food back there, and enough room for several people, so Rosita, Tara and Enid curled up next to Maggie. The remaining Hilltoppers were wary about bedding down in a place like this, as most of them had been at Hilltop from the start, but gradually they started settling. Aaron, Eric and Grace were all sound asleep behind a large shelving unit just in front of the counter. Grace was on Eric’s chest, and he had his head pillowed on Aaron’s. Even Daryl had to admit it was cute. Michonne, Carl and Judy were behind the counter too, backs against the opposite wall. Carl and Judy were asleep, and Michonne appeared to be too, but Daryl could tell she was faking. 

“We should wait a bit before we try the hospital,” Daryl said. “We’re all weak as shit and I ain’t risking walking into a big ass building full of them dead fucks.” He said. He tried toning down the heavier cussing around the kids, but he had to express himself here. Paul snorted. “Eloquent as always,” he said. Daryl flipped him off and turned to Glenn. “I know you wanna get there man, but trying it right now is risky.” 

Glenn looked like he wanted to argue, but then he drooped. “I know,” he said glumly. “This is our first chance, you know. I just, I tend to forget to be smart when Maggie’s involved and I’m freaking out about being a dad as it is.” Rick clapped him on the back. “Maybe we can start with the houses then? Look for clothes and any baby items we can grab.” 

“I was thinking the same,” Rick said. As their only other resident dad, he knew what Glenn was thinking. “That way, we can start gathering what we’re gonna need without our asses hanging out.” 

“I think our asses are going to be out no matter what we do, and I think we need to talk about the Saviors.” Paul said. He was so pragmatic that sometimes it hurt. “All of us were surprised as hell when Negan told his men not to fire on us. I wouldn’t put it past him to let us go on purpose just to hunt us down like dogs when they get bored.” 

It was shitty to say, and Daryl knew Paul felt that way about it too, but he wasn’t about to tell him to stop. It was true, and Daryl had been thinking about it since they left. “I hate to have to bring it up,” Paul continued, “but we can’t go on without thinking about the possibility. The Saviors have been a perpetual thorn in the side of every living being since this started and I don’t think they’re going to stop just because they have a shiny new place to stay.” There was a bitter edge to his voice. “They never showed this much mercy before, and Negan’s probably getting antsy since he didn’t even get to bash someone’s head in. I can’t help think that there’s going to be a rug pulled out from under us soon.” 

Rick sighed. “Negan’s smart. I think he calculated that letting us run would make his take over easier. But you’re right, Jesus, he didn’t lay a hand on anyone and that don’t make sense. The only way it makes sense is if he has plans to do it later.” 

“Knowing that bastard.” Daryl said. He knew what Negan and his group were capable of and if Daryl were being honest, he was torn between wanting to take off and never look back, and wanting to stomp right back to Hilltop and show Negan who was fucking with. 

“We can’t know anything for sure though.” Glenn said. At the look he got from the others, he put his hands up. “Honestly, we can’t. Unless we go back there and I don’t think we’re going to do that. He’s an asshole for sure, but he doesn’t do anything without a reason. If he does plan to kill us all anyway why bother giving us the option; why not just put us in a pen like we did with his guys?” 

He had a point. “Well it’s not like we can find out any easy way,” Paul said, “There’s only so much we can do either way. If the plan is to stay in this area for the time being, let’s make the most of it. Like Daryl said, scout any working cars in the area and see what might be left for gas. Gather all the supplies we can and make sure we have an escape route.” 

“What about the Kingdom?” Rick said, “Anyone know if Maggie still wanted to head that way?” Glenn sighed. “She wants to, but she’s worried about the baby. From what we can tell, we’re probably about a 6 or 7 day walk from the Kingdom, and since we don’t know for sure when she’s due, she’s terrified that it’s going to come when we’re on the move. I mean, she knows we’re runnin’ anyway but we have no idea what’s going on at the Kingdom. If Negan and the Saviors rolled up to Hilltop, it makes sense that they would have hit Kingdom too. The people left there probably got out since they’re scrappy as hell but that wouldn’t make their situation any better than ours.” 

Daryl wanted to scream. He hated the idea of not at least trying to get to Carol, but he knew that if he could tell her that he wanted to come for her, she’d have something to say about it. “Let’s scrap it then,” he said. Both Glenn and Rick looked at him. “Hey, I wanna get to ‘em too, but we all know that if Carol could see us talking about it she’d smack us silly.” The others had to smile at that, even Paul. “Let’s stick with the plan we got.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for the week! Hope you guys like it - comments are more than welcome!


	8. Chapter 8

After their discussion, they decided it would be a good time to get some rest. Rick and Glenn went to their respective families, and Daryl and Paul were left to find their own place to sleep. The store they were in was rather large considering what it was and there was plenty of room for them to spread out opposite from Aaron and Eric. The only problem was, now that it was time to sleep, Daryl couldn’t turn his brain off. Like Paul said earlier, he’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop for days now and if half of their people getting torn apart wasn’t enough, sooner or later something worse was bound to happen. He was thinking about Negan and the Saviors, but also about anyone else they might run into. They’d never been this far out before and who’s knows what could be lurking around the corner. 

“I can hear you thinking from over here, you know.” Paul said, startling Daryl out of his reverie. Paul snorted at the expression he wore, and he blushed. Daryl knew that Paul wasn’t mad; the guy barely slept so it wasn’t that Daryl was keeping him up. “What, you worried about me?” He asked cheekily. 

When he saw the look on Paul’s face, he knew he’d stuck a cord. “Of course I’m worried about you,” he said, no trace of humor in his voice. Over the past few months, between going on runs together and trying to shore up the defenses at Hilltop, Daryl and Paul had grown closer. Daryl knew that they meant something to each other, but there was always a part of Daryl’s brain that was trying to figure out exactly what. Paul was a natural flirt, but Daryl had always been oblivious to that sort of stuff; it wasn’t to say he didn’t want it, he just didn’t know how to handle it. Like when Paul went over the fence without him, it took everything he had to not freak out about it. That kind of reaction to stuff that Paul could obviously handle made Daryl wonder what would happen if something else happened, something that Paul wouldn’t or couldn’t bounce back from. It made Daryl shake just to think about it. 

“Hey,” Paul said. Daryl had retreated into his head again and when he looked up, he say that Paul had come closer. They were almost touching. “Of course I’m worried,” he repeated, “I’m worried about everything. About Maggie and Glenn and the kids and Rick. And you. Sometimes I look at you and I think we’ve lost something greater than a stable place to stay.” Daryl wasn’t offended, he knew what Paul meant. He saw the same thing when he looked the others, too. 

“We’ve all lost shit,” Daryl said, “Parts of who we are. But we still got these people, and that’s what matters the most. Family helps put you back together.” 

Paul’s eyes were misty as he took it all in. “Wow, Mr. Dixon, you sure know the way to a man’s heart.” Daryl’s own heart clenched at that. Paul knew he cared and that was almost better than anything else. He wanted more though, and he couldn’t stop himself from taking Paul’s hand in his. Paul’s smile was worth the past 6 days and then some.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday y'all! Here's chapter 8 - I'll be doing the usual today, chapter 8 and probably chapter 9 later on. Enjoy some more Desus! 
> 
> I'd appreciate any feedback! Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

By the time the morning came, everyone was rested enough to get moving quickly. They scoured the shelves for anything they could call breakfast – hard fruit gummies and stale cereal were the best options. They also split a large bag of beef jerky, probably their best find, as it was both protein and still delicious. The bags of chips and candy stacked up on the shelves worked alright for dinner, so Daryl, Paul, Rick and Glenn stuffed a few things each into their bags in case they had to run. Rick handed Carl some bags of Goldfish to keep for himself and Judy and they all grabbed at least one bottle of water from the cases they found in the back room. Once this was set, Rick gathered to group to go over the action plan: they were going to hit the pharmacy and department story that Maggie had circled on the map, as well as anything else on the main streets that may not have been listed. They’d check out cars as well, and any houses. Maggie was adamant that she would be going with them, much to Glenn’s chagrin, so she would be setting the pace. Paul and Daryl would scout the areas a little ahead of everyone else and Aaron would be their back up. Tara, Carl, Enid and Eric had been chosen to stay behind to watch over the kids and the remaining Hilltoppers; Aaron had started to argue as soon as Rick said it, but Eric shushed him. They both knew that in case anything went wrong, it was best for someone who knew how to handle a gun to stay back. This was the reason Carl also didn’t argue about being left behind. Luckily, they’d been able to grab a set of walkie-talkies while making their escape from Hilltop, so the two groups would be able to remain in contact. All in all, it wasn’t a bad setup, and Daryl was happy for it. 

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay here?” Daryl heard Glenn say to Maggie as they were getting ready to head out. He snorted loudly. “Just give it up man,” he said, “I think if you ask her again she gonna make you sorry for ever knockin’ her up.” This garnered a laugh from the entire group, Glenn and Maggie included. Paul looked at Daryl and winked again – apparently, he always knew just what to say. 

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Glenn said, wearing a grin and a light blush staining his cheeks. His wife kissed him softly. “It’ll be fine,” she said with a smile. She turned to the others. “I figure if we start out early enough each day we can do everything we want and still get back before it starts to get dark. Plus, it’s less humid in the morning.” 

“Y’all heard the lady,” Daryl said, “Let’s getta move on.” It was that simple. Those who were staying behind wished the group good luck, and they were off. 

They got out onto the street with Rick in the lead. Paul and Daryl each took a side and walked a bit ahead of the others, keeping an eye on out for any trouble and making sure they had the others’ backs. As they walked, Maggie and Rick were bent over the map, trying to keep track of anything of interest. The map was a bit older, so they were hoping other stores or shops had been added; they also hoped that what they were looking for was still there.  


“I think we’re getting close,” Rick said, alternating between squinting down at the map and looking up the street. “The store is literally on a corner so past the next side street it should be right there.” They’d only walked about a block; you had to love small towns.

“Woah.” Glenn said. When Daryl looked up, he saw the store and why Glenn had called out. The sign for ‘Gayle and Grant’s Cornah Storah’ has been spray painted over, the words 'THE END IS NIGH' is all capital letters only blocking out some of the sign underneath. The real reason for concern though were the two large skull and crossbones, also spray painted in black, on each of the large windows on either side of the main entrance. There was nothing else written, but skulls were never a good sign. 

“How do we feel about trying this still?” Paul asked, looking like he was already gearing up for a fight. He walked up to one of the windows and peered inside. “I can’t see shit.” 

Daryl walked up beside him, put a hand on his shoulder in warning and banged three times on the glass. Within 30 seconds, at least 7 walkers were pushed up against the glass, trying to get at the meal just beyond it. In retrospect, 7 wasn’t that many, but with the black paint and no light in the store, they couldn’t tell if there were more.

“Damn,” Rick said. “Everywhere else in this town is so clean I figured we’d be alright for a bit.” 

“I say we still try it,” Glenn said. “We open the door, they’ll come out, we take ‘em down. If it turns out to be more than just these, we’ll make ourselves scarce for a few and take them out one at a time.” He obviously wanted into that store, and so did the others. They were already nodding before he finished talking. Even Maggie looked okay with it. 

“Okay, then,” Paul said, “here’s my thoughts. Daryl and I flank the door, with Rick standing in front of it, about 10 paces away, drawing then toward you. Michonne, you can hang back with Rick to take any that start to circle back to us. Daryl and I will handle the rest. Oh, with Rosita for backup.” He smiled at her at he said it. 

“Works for me,” she said, already drawing her knife. While the others grabbed their weapons, knives mostly so as not make any more noise, Paul directed Glenn, Maggie and Aaron to the side of the building. That way, they’d be safe but still able to jump in if needed. 

“We ready?” Daryl asked. The others nodded. He walked to the right side of the door, with Paul taking the left. Paul pulled his lock picks out of his pocket and proceeded to take care of the one deadbolt keeping the walkers inside the store. Once done, he dropped back beside the door. Daryl walked forward, and with a quick look back to Rick and Michonne, pulled the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to post this chapter last night, so here it is, Chapter 9! It's a bit longer than the last few, and although there's really no Desus in this one, I promise there's more to come!


	10. Chapter 10

The walkers came pouring out as soon as the door was clear. The first 4 immediately went for Rick, who along with Michonne, took then down with practiced ease. Both Daryl and Paul lunged for the others as they crossed the threshold, putting knives through eye sockets and up under chins. Daryl got 3, Paul 2 and Rosita got the straggler that was dragging itself out by the arms that were the only limbs the thing had left. In total, there were 10 walkers in the store; more than their original count but nothing they couldn’t handle. The one thing that worried Daryl was that they could still hear groaning coming from the store. It was quieter than it had been before but still distinguishable. 

“Sounds like there’s a couple of ‘em trapped in the back or somethin’.” This wasn’t particularly unusual. Just like someone must have done with the store itself, someone who’d worked at the store had probably locked another employee in the back room before things really went to hell. 

“I’ll go in.” Paul said. “Who’s with me?” He didn’t really need to ask as Daryl answered at once. “I will, you shit.” He said this part because even as he asked the question to the group, Paul was looking directly at Daryl. 

Rick cleared his throat behind them. “Okay,” he said, obviously wondering about the silent conversation going on between the two. “We’ll tell Glenn and Maggie. Rosita, back them up?” He asked. She nodded and stepped up behind Paul. 

Paul didn’t wait for another further discussion. He stepped in the store, knife in hand, with Daryl right behind him. Rosita followed a few paces back. There was very little light coming in from the outside so they had to split their time between watching for the dead and watching where they stepped. The groaning was getting louder, too. As they got further in, Daryl pointed to a door at the back of the store with a blood smear near the doorknob; this was it. He signaled Paul and Rosita to get ready. This door was also locked, so Paul stepped up with his picks. Only this time, he wasn’t prepared for the large walker that came pushing through the door as soon as it gave even slightly; it was a man, pushing 6’5, wearing a jersey for the high school football team with a store name tag reading “Mitch” still pinned to the front. Paul, with his quick reflexes, managed to dodge the thing as it came lurching out at him, and all in the blink of an eye, turned and smashed the walker’s head against the door with a smart round house kick. 

“Holy shit!” Rosita laughed. Daryl wished he felt as light. “The hell you think you’re doing?! Thing coulda grabbed ya!” He said. Rosita rolled her eyes and walked past the two of them into the now empty back room. 

“I do that stuff all the time, Daryl,” he said. Even though he was clearly winded, he was grinning. Daryl scowled nonetheless. “I know that, dumbass, that’s the damn point.” With that he turned around and stalked into the back room after Rosita. He’d figure out these stupid feelings later. 

Paul popped his head quickly into the room to tell them that he was going to go get the others. He looked puzzled but didn’t say anything else and for that, Daryl was grateful. Once he was gone, Daryl followed Rosita, who’d gone through another door on the opposite side of the room. There wasn’t much here anyways: some boxes of expired dried goods, just like the convenience store, and a few moth-eaten blankets. The other room, it turned out, was the pharmacy; it was intended for drive up, so it was separate from the rest of the store. It didn’t look like much, especially since it looked like a hurricane had blown through the place, but he spotted Rosita rummaging through some drawers. 

“Seriously, all that fucking work for a couple bottles of Tylenol and a box of prescription cough drops.” She cursed. Daryl had to smirk. 

After looking around the place a bit and not discovering much else, they went back into the front of the store. Paul, Glenn and Michonne were looking for anything to take with them while Maggie and Rick talked about what to do next. 

“When we were around the corner, Glenn spotted a thrift store on the other side. It’s right across from this building, just facing the other direction and it doesn’t look like anyone’s broken in. We could use some clothes.” Maggie said. Rick nodded, “That seems like a good place to head next. We done here?” he asked the group. 

Glenn looked up from stuffing bags of trail mix into his duffel. “This place definitely has better food at least.” He said. Maggie shook her head as she passed. “Let’s go. I’m tired of wearing your shirts, hopefully that stores got something in maternity.” She said. Rick, Michonne and Rosita followed them out, leaving Daryl and Paul alone.

“I’m fine, you know.” Paul said. He was trying to reassure Daryl, and it made him both grateful and on edge. He’d already told himself that Paul was okay, and that Paul was an adult and could handle his own shit, but it still seemed like he was trying to process it. “I know.” He replied, settling for something simple. 

Paul smiled, a soft smile. Any of his smiles managed to take Daryl’s breath away. All he said was, “I’m glad you worry about me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10, as promised; have a little bit of Desus and some sassy Rosita. Feel free to let me know what you guys think, comments are more than welcome!


	11. Chapter 11

By the time they got back out onto the street, the others were already halfway to the thrift store. They were walking in a close group, with Rick at the front and Rosita at the rear. Daryl and Paul were walking side by side and Paul was busy trying to pull his hair into a bun on the top of his head. Even though Daryl sometimes found his hair ridiculous, and wondered how he managed it, he felt rather fond watching him do this simple task. 

“Did you guys see anything while you were over here?” Daryl heard Rick call out to Glenn as they neared the rest of the group. They were standing on the street in front of a small store with only one window. Maggie was right though, it seemed that this building had been left alone. 

“No,” he said, “but we didn’t get too close. Just saw the sign and figured it would be a good place to try.” Glenn finished. It looked like he hadn’t moved since they got back out here; it was nearing midday now and everyone was covered in a sheen of sweat. He and Maggie were underneath the awning of a small restaurant next to the thrift store. 

Rick walked over to the store window, peered inside, and as Daryl had earlier, went to bang on the glass when Paul grabbed his arm to stop him. He pointed to the door of the shop: it was open a crack, meaning it wasn’t locked. Rick nodded, motioned for everyone else to get back, and opened the door the rest of the way. It looked empty. Daryl crept forward, and the two of them made quick work of clearing the place. “Alright y’all, come on in.” Rick said. 

It was small, just two rooms bordered by low jewelry counters and book shelves. There were plenty of clothes though, racks upon racks that hadn’t been touched. Maggie, Glenn and Rosita all made a be-line for the racks; Maggie and Rosita to women’s and Glenn to the children’s. 

“Let’s see what we can grab,” Michonne said, holding up a rather nice-looking woman’s leather jacket. “Clothes is never our main priority, so we might as well take it while we can.” For once, Daryl wanted something new to wear. He would never part with his vest, it meant too much to him, but everything else he had was worse for wear. He joined Rick and Aaron over at the men’s racks. 

“Here,” Aaron said, holding something out to him. It was a gray long-sleeved t-shirt with the Harley-Davidson Logo on it, and graphics of tire tracks running down the arms. He nodded his thanks and tossed it into his bag. He also grabbed a black hooded sweatshirt and a pair or fleece-lined jeans; even if it was hot now, it wouldn’t stay that way forever and they needed to be prepared for the East Coast chill. He wasn’t keen to wear the heavy stuff now though, so he joined the rest of them in grabbing lighter clothes. He even found a few sleeveless things and nearly missed the grin Rick sent his way when he saw him grabbing them. He was about to flip the man off when Paul called out. 

“Hey, guys. Why would anyone padlock a closet?” he asked. He’d been going through the books, the nerd, and had already stacked a neat pile onto one of the counters. He’d noticed though that tucked into one of the walls, nearly hidden unless you were looking right it, was a closet that had been locked from the outside. Rick and Daryl joined him. 

“I doubt it’s the dead, we’d have heard ‘em knocking about by now. Can you pick the lock, Jesus?” Rick asked. He didn't have to though, as Paul was already crouching by the door. Once he had it unlocked, he pulled the chain that had been wrapped around the doorknob. “Ready?” He asked. He looked back to see both Daryl and Rick nod, knives in hand, and pulled the door open. 

There was a moment of silence. “Shit,” Paul said, “now that’s a reason to lock a closet.” Inside, stacked up against the walls, were what must have been dozens of automatic and semi-automatic weapons. There was ammunition too, in all different calibers, all thrown into a duffel bag resting on the floor.   
By then, the rest of the group had gathered around the closet. “Looks like we discovered a stock pile.” Rosita said, a wide grin on her face. “I wonder how long these have been here?” Glenn asked. “Probably from the beginning, I’d guess.” Daryl replied. He’d picked up one of the weapons and was examining it. “There’s dust down the barrel but otherwise, these things are clean as hell. Somebody must’ve stashed ‘em but never made it back.” 

“Well, they’re ours now.” Maggie said. She’d normally be against taking them if it was clear someone had been here recently, but like Daryl had pointed out, there was a layer of dust covering everything. Whoever had put the guns here wasn’t coming back and it didn’t make sense to just leave something so valuable behind. 

“Okay, let’s pull ‘em out.” Rick said. “Glenn, grab the duffel and do a quick inventory. I’ve already got my rifle, but I want anyone else who can carry one to grab one and load it up. Then we’ll pack up what’s left; looks like we hit a goldmine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11! I plan to post chapter 12 as well today - Christmas is almost here and I'm planning to post probably 2 chapters a day until this weekend, as I won't have access to the story until after the holiday. You know what they say though, absence makes the heart fonder ;) Thank you to everyone who's commented and left kudos - it means a lot to know that people like my story; it makes me happy to know that people are even reading it!


	12. Chapter 12

Findings the guns was a much-needed morale boost. After a review of what they now had for weapons – 18 in total, all in working order with accompanying ammo - they went back to the rest of the store. Like Daryl, the others had found plenty to add to their meager wardrobes. Maggie had found several maternity tops and a pair of shorts that would suit her needs for the rest of her pregnancy, as well as a few things for after. She and Glenn had collected a few things for the baby, mostly onesies, but they’d also managed to snag a bag of brand new baby socks and a set of thermal baby pajamas, covered in multi-covered stars. Aaron and Glenn had been talking about what else they may need, as Aaron had baby Grace to think about as well, and between the three of them they put together enough that they’d be able to share; he was also lucky enough to find a new pair of boots for Eric, whose current ones were a size and a half too small. Michonne and Rick, along with items for themselves, had picked out a few things for Carl, Enid and Judith that if they were lucky they’d be able to carry for the other children as they got older. Rosita was putting together some items for Tara, as well as a bag full of items that the Hilltoppers could pick through. Paul was the last one still picking out clothes. 

“I got distracted by the books.” He said when Daryl went over to tell him to get his ass moving. “I’m almost done.” Daryl looked down at what he’d collected: a light brown sweater with white sleeves, an orange pullover fleece, what looked like a fancy workout tank top, three t-shirts – one of which was tie-dye – and a hat. He’d packed it expertly with the idea that they’d each have to carry whatever they found. The books, however, were going to be a different story. 

“How you plannin’ to get all these back without killing yourself?” Daryl asked him. Paul laughed, “Well I thought I’d carry them,” he said, prompting Daryl to roll his eyes. “You can help though, if you want. I’m sure those biceps can handle a few books.” Paul said cheekily. 

“You call those a few?” he replied, making Paul laugh. He filed that comment about his arms away for later. 

“We’re gonna get going.” Rick called out. “We’ve been in here for a while. I’m figuring it’s getting later and we don’t want to get caught. It may take a trip or two to lug all this back anyways.” Along with Paul’s books, they’d collected some things to keep people busy while they were hunkered down, puzzles and the like. Daryl knew he was hoping to find something to keep Judy busy, too. “We can take a look at the cars we passed on our way back.” 

“How about the houses?” Paul asked. Rick shook his head. “Maggie’s running out of energy for the day. When Glenn said he’d bring her back while the rest of us stayed out, she nearly took his head off,” he chuckled. “We’ll head out again first thing in the mornin’, hit some houses and the department store.” 

Paul and Daryl both nodded and followed Rick out. Daryl could tell right about what he’d said about Maggie: she was leaning into Glenn with her eyes mostly closed and Glenn, who looked tired himself, was keeping his arm around her waist to make sure she stayed upright. 

Maggie noticed that Daryl’s attention was on her. “Carol said these last few months would be the hardest.” She said. Daryl could tell she was fighting tears but that she wouldn’t let the tiredness get the better of her. It was no wonder she was taking advice from Carol. 

Rick went over to them to make sure they were ready, and with Maggie’s assurance, they started heading back toward the convenience store for the night. It was definitely getting later, as Rick as said, and the sun was starting to creep toward the tree line. Things were starting to throw shadows, and Daryl was glad that they were finishing up for the day. Once they got back onto the main street, Michonne, Daryl and Paul started heading for the abandoned cars. Considering the size of the town there were quite a few cars. Most of them were clearly abandoned in a hurry and some were similar to those parked on the highway out of Atlanta; there were suitcases and empty water bottles and maps that has been haphazardly dropped as people tried to escape. Daryl found it amusing the way people’s lives before and after mixed when it came to vehicles. He’d opened the hatch of a small SUV and had found a stack of 90’s Pop CD’s next to a bloody baseball bat. Outside of the same vehicle had been a child’s backpack and several shell casings. Daryl decided not to dwell on what happened here. 

“Daryl, get over here.” Paul said. Daryl started to panic because Paul never asked for help, but when he looked up he was smiling. He held out maybe 25 brand new arrows for Daryl’s bow. “Consider these your birthday present. You said it was in July, right?” 

The gesture made Daryl’s eyes brim with tears. He’d mentioned months ago that his birthday was in July as the group had been discussing it, and he couldn’t believe Paul remembered. “Thanks.” He said, not trusting himself to say anything else. Paul smiled again and Daryl couldn’t help it – he reached out and pulled the other man in for a hug. It was as if Paul was expecting it, as he immediately wrapped his arms around him. “You’re very welcome.” He said as he pulled back to look at him again. “I’ll find as many as I can if it means I get more hugs.” 

Daryl found that he wouldn’t mind more hugs either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some Desus hugs!


	13. Chapter 13

“We did pretty good today,” Paul said as they were packing up again. After the arrows, he’d also found a machete in the cab of a truck and Rick had found some extra ammunition for his rifle. They were weighed down a bit by everything they had to carry but no one really cared; things they needed turning up was something that happened all too infrequently. 

“Maybe with some of the extra ammunition we can teach the others how to shoot.” Maggie said. When they were still at Hilltop, they’d started training some of the people to protect more than just themselves. They were very low on ammo then, though, so primarily the lessons came from Paul, who was good with both his hands and knives. Glenn had helped too, and they’d been making progress. Unfortunately, their numbers were smaller now. They’d probably have to start over. 

“Maybe once we get moving a bit more,” Rick said, “I don’t like the idea of having target practice near where we’re staying. Too many things have gone bad before to risk it. There should be fields cropping up once we make our way to the hospital.” Maggie seemed to agree with what he said, because she replied, “There may even be some targets at that department store, like actual targets. That would help our people, I’m sure.” Rick and Maggie worked together well, and Daryl was happy to see them running things together. 

As they continued the discussion, the convenience store came into view. Just as they finished rounding the corner, Eric popped out of the alley next to the store. 

“Is everything alright?” Aaron hollered immediately. Daryl could tell that Eric was rolling his eyes even from this distance. “Yes, Dad, everything’s a-okay,” he said, coming closer. He leaned into to give Aaron a quick kiss, “Our day’s been boring as hell, actually. Not a single person or walker. They only thing we did was make hourly rounds.” Aaron looked relieved, and so did the others. Daryl knew Rick was worried about his kids, and he couldn’t help but worry too. 

“Looks like you guys did alright,” Eric said as he slipped into step with the rest of the group. Even though things were quiet around them, Aaron waited to tell him about their find until they stepped inside. Everyone looked up as they did, and Tara just about bounded forward. “What’s up, my dudes?” she said in her usual greeting. Rosita pulled her in for a hug and then started in with the story of their day. 

“It was a great find.” Rick said minutes later after they’d all taken turns telling the others what had transpired. They’d been back from their outing for about an hour and everyone was settling down. Rosita had started with finding the guns, which was the highlight, but Maggie soon brought them back to the clothing and the plans for tomorrow. Everyone was thrilled at the news, even the little ones seemed to perk up. Once again, though, Maggie had to bring them back to reality. 

“The only thing that’s concerning me at this point is medicine.” Maggie said, “I was hoping there was going to be more at the pharmacy we checked out, but all we were able to get was some generic pain killers. And I promise this isn’t just about me,” she added when she saw the look on Glenn’s face. “Yes, I’m thinking about it, but ideally I’d like to start with antibiotics and as many bandages as we can get our hands on. Disinfectants would be good too, even if they’re low grade. Those things can be life savers and I don’t want anyone here having to worry about things like cuts and scrapes.” She looked around at the group as she continued. “If the department store on the map is as large as it is looks, they may have a section devoted to this sort of thing. That’s what I’m hoping for anyways. After that, we’ll look toward the hospital for anything else we may need. It’ll probably be a few more days before we can get there though, so I’m hoping for at least somethin’ to tide us over. Also, if anyone has anything in mind that they think might be of use, let me or Rick know. We’re going to do this together.” It was a pep-talk and a demand all rolled into one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13! You guys are probably used to my chapter lengths by now, but this one is a bit shorter than the last one and then Chapter 14 will be a little longer. This chapter doesn't really focus on Desus, more on the group in general. There is though some sassy Eric - I wrote him that way, and you'll be seeing more of it, because I firmly beleive it's the truth. Change my mind. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for the feedback! I truly enjoy hearing what y'all think!


	14. Chapter 14

After the success of the day, it was easy to get to sleep. Daryl didn’t even dream. He did, though, wake up to Paul staring at him. 

“The hell?” he said, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. “Sorry,” Paul said, “didn’t mean to interrupt your beauty sleep.” 

Daryl huffed. “Fuck off, man,” he said. “Something up?” he asked as he started pulling on his boots. They’d set a watch last night, Aaron and Rosita had done a few hours each, so no one felt the need to sleep in their clothes. “No, we’re good, Rick just wants to get moving.” He said. Daryl looked toward the front of the store, where Rick was indeed gearing up for the day. “Shit, the ain’t even sun up yet.” Daryl groused, making Paul laugh. “That’s what Maggie said when he woke her up. He threw Glenn under the bus when he told her it was his idea, something about keeping her out of the sun.” Now it was Daryl’s turn to laugh; he could imagine how that went down. 

“Hey, don’t make me sound bad.” Glenn said as he rounded the corner to where they were. Daryl was still trying to clear his head, so he hadn’t even noticed when Paul sat down next to him. “You did that all on your own,” he said to the man. Glenn snorted and looked back at his wife. “I just want her safe, you know.” He said. Daryl could tell it was frustrating him that he couldn’t convince her to stay out of the action, but that he understood. “We want her safe too, kid.” Daryl replied, “but she can handle her shit. Keeps the rest of us in line, too.” Glenn couldn’t deny that. Paul smiled too – he was fond of the couple and their banter. 

As they noticed the others starting to join their leader at the front of the group, Daryl, Paul and Glenn did the same. Maggie was already up front, and the rest of them laughed at the sheepish smile Glenn gave her. She patted his hand and turned toward the others. 

The plan today was like the one yesterday. Rosita and Michonne would stay behind with the others, giving Carl, Enid, Eric and Tara a chance to get out. They’d start with the closer houses and any of the cars they didn’t hit the day before just in case they needed to bring things back to the store. Then they’d go to the department store; Maggie was hoping to scout the hospital too, but she admitted that she wasn’t sure if they’d get to it today. The way she said it almost sounded like she was taking pity on Glenn. 

“There’s one last thing.” Rick said, “We’ve been discussing alternate plans,” he looked at Maggie as he said this. “We hope the hospital will work out, but we can’t deny that there’s a possibility that it won’t; there’s also the possibility of certain people coming after us.” He looked grim. Everyone knew what he meant, they were all thinking it, and although Daryl would rather not talk about it, he knew they had to. “In case we need to get out of here in a hurry, we’re gonna try to scout some alternate routes today; I want to find a vehicle too. As we go we should be able to narrow down some options. I also want to pick another place, maybe somewhere down at the other end of town that we can put some minimal supplies in case we need to hunker down elsewhere.” As he finished he looked at Daryl and Paul. “You two good to break from the group today?” he asked. “We figure once we get to the department store and make sure it’s clear, we can send y’all on ahead to scout. I’m hoping we’ll get lucky and will be able to see most of the area from the roof of one of the taller buildings.” Both men nodded but exchanged a look. They doubted it would be that easy. 

Rick quickly walked back deeper into the store to say goodbye to Michonne, and as he reappeared, the group started to file out into the early morning sunlight. 

Once outside, Daryl heard Maggie sigh. “Okay,” she said, “I give. This was a good idea.” She was smiling at Glenn, who looked like Christmas had come early. He pumped his fist into the air, making the others laugh. Maggie wrapped her arms around his middle, “Don’t get too excited,” she said. He chuckled and kissed her on the head. 

Paul was looking at them when he elbowed Daryl gently, “Isn’t love grand?” he asked. Daryl never knew Paul to be the sappy type, but he looked like he meant it. Daryl shrugged, not knowing what else to say. Paul looked down at the ground, smiling to himself like he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “I never used to think that,” he said. “I guess now it just means more because everything’s so fucked.” Daryl couldn’t argue with that; he thought the same thing even though he had a hard time putting names to his feelings. Paul elbowed him again, “Who knows, maybe we’ll be next.” 

There was a glimmer is his eyes, Daryl could tell, and when Paul smiled at him again, it was almost shy. Daryl knew he could take what he had said several different ways, but he knew he only wanted to consider one of those ways. Paul seemed to recognize that too, and with a quick squeeze of Daryl’s hand, he walked away to join the others leaving Daryl alone with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one for the day. Have a little sappy Desus to tide you over.


	15. Chapter 15

The line of houses they wanted to stop at started less than 5 minutes away from the convenience store. They’d been talking as they walked, and though Daryl was still caught up in trying to figure out what Paul had said just a few minutes ago, he managed to catch the plan. He and Paul would circle the back of the houses while Rick, Tara and Carl took the inside; Aaron and Eric would go for the garage while Glenn and Maggie waited out front and took stock of anything the others found. It was a plan that should work for all the houses they stopped at, based on how they were laid out. 

The first was a small colonial with a two-bay garage and at least two stories to the main house. Daryl saw Rick, Tara and Carl head up the front steps; they paused in the doorway to make sure it at least seemed empty, then they tried the door. It wasn’t locked. The garage wasn’t locked either, in fact the door was open a bit, so after a quick look inside, Aaron and Eric slipped in as well. 

“I’m pretty glad we’re outside right now.” Paul said. The sun was starting to rise and both men could tell it was going to be a scorcher. “At least it’s not humid out here yet.” Daryl hummed in agreement, “Probably gonna be hot as fuck in these places.” 

“I don’t doubt it,” Paul replied, “especially with you hanging around.” Daryl’s head whipped around so fast he nearly lost his balance. Paul’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he steadied Daryl with a hand. “What, you never been complimented before?” he asked. 

“Nah,” Daryl said, being honest with the other man. Other people had expressed similar opinions, but since the negative opinions were even more common than the positive ones, Daryl was never sure which ones to believe. As he always did when emotions were involved, Daryl was chewing on his fingernails when he noticed Paul was still looking at him. “Now that’s a damn shame.” he said. He was looking at Daryl like he was a puzzle. 

“Hey guys!” Glenn’s shout shattered the moment, as both men jumped at the interruption. They were so caught up in each other, they didn’t even notice the other man’s approach. Said man had one eyebrow raised when he said “We’re moving on. Tara found a big enough rain jacket for Maggie, but the place is a bust otherwise. Rick said it looked like the house was cleared about before the shit even started.” 

“Let’s hope they were vacationing somewhere nice when it all hit.” Paul said. As he passed, Glenn the other man gave him a look that Paul ignored. He then gave Daryl the same look, that same raised eyebrow with a grin on his lips; Daryl ignored him too. He heard Glenn snort behind him. 

As they approached the front of the house, Daryl could hear Paul telling Rick and Maggie that the backyard was empty too. It was true, there wasn’t even anything in the small tool shed they checked and it looked as though the garden had been dead for years. 

“Well they can’t all be thrift stores.” Tara said, earning a partly amused and partly frustrated look from Rick. She rolled her eyes. “I’ll go get the guys,” she said, referring to Aaron and Eric. 

Just then, though, the couple in question emerged from the garage. They weren’t carrying anything, but they were both obviously disheveled. Tara rolled her eyes again, and started wandering back toward the street, her eyes looking down the road at some of the other houses. Rick looked concerned though. “Y’all alright?” he said. Aaron blushed, but Eric took it in stride. “We’re fine” he said. “Place was empty but there was an old desk pushed up against one of the walls. Great place to make out,” he grinned.

“Eric!” Aaron scolded, his blush getting deeper. The others laughed. “I knew we should have taken the garage!” Glenn said, wiggling his eyebrows at Maggie. She smacked him. 

“Seriously, man, you had to ask?” Daryl said to Rick who looked sheepish, at least. This prompted another wave of laughter from the group. Even Aaron was laughing now; he had an arm wrapped around Eric’s waist. 

“Okay, okay, lesson learned.” Rick said, but he’d been chuckling along with the rest of them. Daryl was glad for the moment of levity; the atmosphere around them felt lighter and it was easier for the group to gather their things and head back out. He did though, catch Paul looking at him as they started walking – Daryl couldn’t deny that he’d been looking too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 15! This will probably be the only chapter I post today. It's a good chapter though, with humor, flirting and some Desus. I hope you guys like it and you can expect more late next week. Have a great Holiday everyone! You guys reading and enjoying this story has been a great present :)


	16. Chapter 16

They went through the second house just as they had the first, but since it had very little back yard, after a quick look around Daryl and Paul joined the others inside the house. Considering there was almost no space out back, the house itself was large. A big kitchen and dining room, with a second-floor den and 3 bedrooms. It was larger than the first house, for sure, and they did find more they could use - Daryl figured Maggie would cry at the 4 tubes of Neosporin Tara had found in the bathroom – but this house was also worse than the first. Daryl would have thought they’d be used to this by now, but he felt low as he walked through the upper floor. There were four bodies, 3 in one bedroom and a 4th in the hallway a few feet to one side of the door. Rick had told him that the fourth body was still walking when they came up the stairs – he figures one of the people in the bedroom had turned and bit the others. The walker just recently put down must have killed the others but succumbed to the fever anyway. 

“I still hate this shit,” Daryl said as they moved past the bodies. Rick looked down too; they were both reminded of the people they’d lost themselves. When they got closer to the end of the hall, they found Paul standing at the entrance to another one of the bedrooms. “Anything?” Rick asked him. 

“Nothing other than what we already found.” He said. Other than the Neosporin, they’d found three packages of antiseptic alcohol wipes, two large bottles of hand sanitizer and a box full of band aids in various sizes. Maggie would be thrilled with those too – from the photos they found in the house, the people who had lived there were older and were trying to take care of themselves, based on the stock piles of generic medical items. 

“This should hold us for a while,” Maggie said as they were leaving, “We have a good start with basic supplies.” She looked wistful while she was talking, and Daryl could tell she was thinking about her father. 

They moved on shortly after they finished packing up what they found and from there, the contents of the houses remained much the same. The next two houses had obviously housed children and they were able to collect a few things they couldn’t from the thrift sore – a package of brand new baby bottles and nipples, 5 cans of powdered formula, another carrier, this time for an infant, and a few teething rings. Aaron and Eric had also found a stroller in the trunk of a car that had been in one of the garages, along with a rather large diaper bag. They collected a few toys as well, a set of foam blocks and a few stuffed animals. Maggie looked elated, but it clear that she was also worried. If the people who had lived here had left these things behind, what had happened to the children? 

“We can’t dwell on that,” Rick said, looking Maggie in the eyes. “Trust me, you want to and it’s real easy to get sucked into it. But our kids are good right now and your little ones gonna be just the same. This stuff is gonna give us an edge.” He smiled at her gently, reassuringly, and she collapsed into the hug he gave her. Glenn had come up behind Maggie too, put his arms around her, and nodded his thanks to Rick. The whole exchange had made Daryl misty eyed, and he could tell the rest of the group was busy trying to hold themselves together; Paul, who was standing next to him, had leant into his side and Aaron had his face buried in Eric’s hair. 

When Maggie stood back up from Rick’s embrace, her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet, but she stood with a newfound confidence. Even though this life was hard, she wasn’t going to give up and Daryl knew that if this whole thing proved anything, it would prove how far his people would go for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope everyone had a great Holiday, and I'm now back with a new chapter today! This chapter is pretty short so I'll see about posting Chapter 17 later on today as well. Please let me know what you think!!


	17. Chapter 17

It was going on noon, as far as Daryl could tell anyway, and they sent Aaron and Eric back to the convenience store to drop off their finds with the rest of the group. The department store was on the other side of town and as they were hoping to find more supplies there, they didn’t want to be weighed down any more. While they were waiting for them to return, the group had spread out on the lawn of the last house they’d checked. There hadn’t been much in the house itself, nor the garage, but the yard was brimming with trees which provided plenty of shade. Maggie had her head in Glenn’s lap and was making a list of what there were looking for at the department store.

“We should start with pharmaceuticals,” Daryl heard her say, “there may even be a small pharmacy in there, that would be ideal. Maybe you and I, “she said, talking directly to Glenn, “can take that and send the others to different departments.” 

“How do you feel about splitting up?” Paul said. He was on the other side of Daryl, who was only a few feet from Maggie and Glenn, and he was obviously listening in too. “Sounds good to me, “Daryl said, “you and me are supposed to go out scoutin’ anyways, we’re gonna be split if we do that. We can cover more ground if we start that way in the first place and we’re gonna clear it first so shouldn’t be nothing to worry ‘bout.” 

Paul raised his eyebrows at him. “I wish I could be that sure.” He said. From their other side, it was clear that Glenn was siding more with Paul on this. “If you’re that worried, we can ask Tara to come with us,” Maggie said. “That’ll leave one other group of three and the rest in groups of two.” She pointedly left the conversation there, waiting for Glenn to either agree or argue some more. He sighed. “I can tell you now that Rick’ll want to split up. If we’re careful clearing the place, we should be all set. I guess I’m in.” He said. His wife smiled at him. 

“You guys in?” She asked Daryl and Paul. They looked at each other. “We were listening to y’all too,” Maggie explained with a grin on her face. Before Daryl could even nod, Aaron and Eric came back into view, hand in hand, and Rick started getting everyone up. 

“I’m in too,” Paul said, amazing them all. He sighed just as Glenn had. “It’s not my favorite idea, but it makes a lot of sense.” When the others started gathering around them, Maggie announced their plan. To no one’s surprise, Rick agreed wholeheartedly and started dividing up the group based on what Maggie told him: Tara would go with her and Glenn, Daryl and Paul would go together as they were splitting off to scout, leaving Aaron and Eric together and Carl with Rick. 

“Other than the pharmacy stuff,” Maggie said, “There are a few items I’d like to make priority. Another set of walkie talkies, with extra batteries is the big one. More than one set would be ideal. We also need some extra blankets, towels if we can get them, boot socks and just socks in general, and some good water bottles or canteens. I’m hoping for a large outdoor section so we can stock up on anything else we might need, like jackets and such. The seasons change annoyingly fast up here so we’ll want to be prepared,” she finished. Then she pointed at Daryl and Paul. “Once we clear the store, you guys should be good to take off. Get up on the roof of the store and see what you can see. I made a make-shift map of the area.” she said, holding it out to Paul. I was just a piece of paper with the major landmarks, but it would work for what they needed. “If y’all see anything of interest, add it to the map. Also, see if you can spot any ways out of the area, just in case.” She looked at Rick then, who nodded. “Add anything like that to the map too. In the next few days we’re going to try to secure some safe houses in the area so anything y’all see would help.” 

Both men nodded; the rest of the group was listening intently too. “Keep an eye out for any large vehicles too” Rick said, “Like I said this morning, we don’t want to get caught out here and I’d rather not have to make a run for it with a group this size.” 

“We ain’t gonna fit everybody into one vehicle,” Daryl said, “unless we find a bus.” Rick looked thoughtful. They normally shied away from anything too large to make them a target but he was right, it would have to be something large. “Or maybe a moving van or truck,” Paul added. “Somebody would have to be up front driving, but we should all be able to fit in the back.” 

“Just like we did in Atlanta,” Glenn said. It was bittersweet, since most of the people they carried that day weren’t around anymore, but Rick nodded. “That might work if we can find one. It may be smaller, but less windows. Only thing to worry about would be not tipping it over,” he said. 

Daryl looked pointedly to the couples in the group. “As long as none of y’all get the truck a’rocking, we should be good,” he said cheekily. Glenn and Aaron both blushed something fierce while Maggie and Eric stood tall. “I don’t know,” Eric said, “I’ve always liked a challenge.” 

“Okay!” Aaron hollered as the rest of the group howled with laughter, “That’s enough out of you,” he said, looking at Eric. He started ushering him out from under the trees they had gathered under, and everyone took that as a queue. They gathered up their things and started out toward the road again. 

As they were walking, Rick came up beside Daryl and Paul who were walking side by side as usual. “I think this may take more light than we got today,” he said. “If it comes to it, do y’all mind staying out overnight? I hate suggesting it but we’re running short on time if we’re going to get to that hospital before the week is out.” Paul looked surprised. “Is that the plan?” he asked. 

Rick sighed. “Ideally, yeah, but who knows what’s gonna happen when we get out there. I’m sure we’re gonna run into some walkers sooner or later and my bets gonna be that it’ll be at this store or the hospital. Just in case something happens, either the dead herding up or the living coming after us, I don’t want to let this go too much longer. I know that Maggie’s starting to get anxious, too.” 

“I mean, it ain’t like we haven’t been out in the dark before.” Daryl said. It wasn’t like Rick to suggest something so risky, but Daryl knew he had good motives to do so. “I say we get up on the roof first, see what’s goin’ on and go from there. No use deciding something before it happens.”  
“I agree.” Paul said. “Sometimes runs at night are even easier, but I say we do it only if we need to.” 

Daryl was almost sure Rick was going to argue but instead he said, “Alright, you guys’ll call it. I’ll go tell the others.” And with that, he walked back to the front of the group. Maggie turned to him before he even got into step with her.

“That was way too easy.” Paul said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17! This is one of the longest chapters so far, and I really like how it flows. Not a lot of Desus going on, but hopefully some more sassy Eric will make up for that. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think and thank you to those who have commented so far!


	18. Chapter 18

It took them about an hour to get to the department store. It was in the center of a large parking lot, the only store of its kind in the area. They had passed some other places on the way there, but nothing of much interest – a vintage video game store, a fresh vegetable stand, two small diners and a credit union. They checked the vegetable stand in case there were any plants to salvage, but everything had died when the people had. 

There were only three cars in the parking lot of the store; they checked them as they went, and Maggie mentioned that they needed to add gas cans to their need list. She and Rick had been bent over the map again as they’d gotten closer and Daryl could tell everyone was tense. He looked to Paul, who seemed to be the only other calm person in the group. “I get why he gave in so easily now,” Paul said, motioning to Rick. “He doesn’t want to be the one to make the choice.” Daryl looked at him warily for a moment. He very rarely judged Rick for his weaknesses but he had to admit that Paul was right. He thought back to a few days ago when he’d thought about how quickly the man changes sometimes. It didn’t make him feel better. 

They followed the others to stand in front of the store. They had all started to gather under the large awning above the front doors. It provided shade from the sun but also from any watching eyes; they hadn’t found any evidence that there were others around, but they weren’t done being careful. 

“Okay, so we know what we’re doing after we clear the place, but here’s how we’re gonna start.” Rick said, taking control of things now. “Me, Daryl, Paul, Glenn and Aaron are going to go in first. Once we’re set, we’ll send someone back to get y’all,” he said, gesturing to Maggie, Carl, Enid, Tara and Eric, “and we’ll split off from there. Daryl and Paul are going to take a quick sweep of the building after we all get in, then they’re going to start their scouting. We’ll see what they turn up and figure out what to do from there once it gets dark.” 

As Rick finished speaking, he waved Daryl forward. “Ready?” he asked. Daryl nodded, raised his fist, and they both pounded on the windows to the store. It was a big place, even from the outside, so they doubted it would draw all the walkers, depending on how they were spread out, but they had to try. After about 30 seconds, they banged again and another 30 seconds later, 2 walkers appeared. Daryl didn’t even wait for Rick to say anything – he walked over to the door and stood beside like he usually did. Rick stood in the middle waiting to take the walkers, while the others hung back in case. Paul picked the heavy padlock on the door and slowly opened it. The two walkers were slow, so they were easy to take down. Once that was done, Daryl stepped in first, followed by Paul and Rick who were flanked on either side by Aaron and Glenn. Glenn looked back quickly and shut the door behind him. 

It was eerily dark inside the store. Even with the huge windows in the front and up toward the ceiling, it was like night had fallen early. Despite that, Daryl could tell that this place had been hit when the looting had started – clothes, shoes and various pieces of trash were scattered everywhere, and several racks and shelves had been knocked over. 

“Damn,” Glenn said behind him, “I was hoping it was gonna be clean, what with the lock and all.” Daryl couldn’t help but add on, “We’ll need to be careful then. Chances are they was trying to keep something in.” 

“The lock could have been wishful thinking, too” Paul said, “someone figuring they’d be coming back and didn’t want everything to disappear. Probably just let the first wave of robbers come through, then locked it up tight. I saw it a lot at the beginning.” Paul had been looking at Daryl the whole time, seemingly scolding him for always seeing the negative. 

“Everyone quiet.” Rick ordered, once again using his authoritative sheriff voice. He pointed up a set of stairs; Daryl and Paul immediately caught on and jogged up them. They stopped briefly before popping their heads over the railing at the top. It was as empty as the first floor, except for the 3 bodies lying just in front of the now out of service elevator. They scoped it out quickly as well and went back down to the first level to report back. 

Rick and the others were making their way back when Daryl and Paul stepped off the stairs. “Anything?” Rick asked, whispering even though he’d given the all clear. “Yes,” Paul said before Daryl could. “The upper floor is the home department, bedding and towels and the like. Maggie will be pleased.” He smiled, and Glenn clapped him on the back. “Any luck with a pharmacy?” he asked. Glenn hadn’t stopped grinning, “Oh yeah,” he said. “Looks like your theory was right. People at the beginning probably thought everything would be fine so they didn’t bother trying to break in. I saw at least one cabinet that read “Employees Only.” Daryl had to grin too at his enthusiasm; employees only usually meant by prescription only. “There was a big children’s section too,” Aaron added, a broad smile on his face as well, “That should take care of anything else we need for the little ones.” 

The only one not smiling was Rick. “Anyone see an outdoor section?” He asked, “Was that part of the upstairs?” he turned toward Paul and Daryl. They both shook their heads. 

“What kind of store like this doesn’t have something like that?” Glenn asked. It was like the wind had been taken out of him and he leaned against Aaron for support. 

“Hold up,” Daryl said “We didn’t look round back. Big places like this sometimes put their hunting stuff in another building.” At that Glenn looked up. “Wait a second” he said, not even bothering to wait for a response. He ran off back toward the front of the store and came back waving a piece of paper. “Daryl’s right,” he said. In his hand was a map of the store. “The sporting goods department is a smaller building. I saw a door before the entrance to the pharmacy and based on this there should be a hallway leading right to it. This also says the access to the roof is in the same hallway.” He handed the map to Rick, who squinted at it in the dark. 

“Let’s clear it,” he said. His voice was controlled, but his eyes were bright. “Both the hall and sporting goods. Once that’s done we should be good to get the others and get started.” He had started walking toward the back of the store before he even finished talking, and the others followed eagerly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 18! Lemme know what y'all think!


	19. Chapter 19

“I don’t wanna know what you were like when you had access to caffeine.” Daryl said to Glenn as they stood in the middle of the sporting goods department, surrounded by racks of outdoor clothing and equipment. Glenn wrinkled his nose; Daryl swore he was vibrating with excitement. “You can’t tell me you’re not even a little excited by all this,” he said. “Maggie’s gonna flip!” 

Daryl had to admit he was right. It had been easy to clear both the hallway and the second building. Both were lined by large, low windows – in contrast to the rest of the store – and they’d been able to see almost clear through the area before they even stepped into it. There had been 3 walkers in the hallway that they’d quickly taken care of, and after making sure the store was empty as well, Rick had sent Aaron back to get the others. It was clear that this part of the store hadn’t been looted, as the door had been locked just like the pharmacy, and they were all eager to start looking around. Daryl had already spotted the knife case and was wandering over to it when Rick came up beside him. 

“I figured you’d want a crack at these,” he said with a small smile. “Take what you want or leave it with one of us. I’ve told Paul to do the same, then I want you guys to get moving. It’s still light out so we’re making good time but..” he trailed off. 

“Ya think something’s up?” Daryl asked and Rick sighed like he was anticipating the question. “I don’t know, brother,” he said. “I know I’m paranoid as shit, but I can’t shake the feeling that something’s going on. I mean, where haven’t we seen more than a handful of walkers? I get that most of ‘em are trapped behind that fence at the school, but they don’t just stand still. If there were more in this area, we should have seen them by now. And, on top of it all, I think I’m hearing things.” Daryl quirked an eyebrow and Rick sighed again. 

“I know, I sound nuts, but when we were in that hallway, it was eerie as all hell. Like, something was there but we couldn’t see it.” Daryl huffed out a breath. “I get it,” he said, “I keep thinking about them dead ones on the second floor and wondering why there were all near the elevator. Don’t make much sense but nothin’ in this place does.” 

“We’re going to need to keep an eye out,” Rick said. It was worse that they both felt this way – it would have been easier to ignore if it was just typical, end of the world paranoia. Rick looked past him after he finished speaking, like was waiting for something to happen. Maggie came around the corner just then, followed by Tara, Aaron and Eric, Enid and Carl. He looked at Daryl again quickly, and then headed over to the others. 

“What was that about?” Paul asked, suddenly standing right beside Daryl. He flinched, and Paul looked taken aback. “Everything okay?” he asked. Daryl nodded and gestured around, “Yeah, think so. Rick and me’s just talking ‘bout the place, is all.” 

Paul nodded like he understood. “This place is creepy, right?” he said. Daryl scowled at him, “Why the hell you ask if ya knew what we was talking about?” he growled. Paul smiled innocently, “Just figured I’d try to take your mind off it.” He said. Daryl could tell he was sincere, and it was annoying as fuck. Daryl hadn’t realized he’d said that part out loud until Paul threw his head back and laughed. 

“There, proof that your mind is now elsewhere,” he said with a wink. “C’mon, let’s take a look around here then head up to the roof. No need to make Rick any more anxious if we can help it.” 

Daryl rolled his eyes but followed the other man anyway. He made a beeline for the knife counter, while Paul went for the outerwear. Within a few minutes they were done, Daryl with a new hunting knife, sharpening stone and a flint kit and Paul with a pair of leather gloves. They met back at the front of the store, where Rick was the only one remaining. 

“I was hoping to catch you guys,” he said. “Everyone is already doing their thing, but I filled Maggie in on what you and I talked about.” He looked at Paul pointedly, but Daryl shook his head. “No need to explain,” he said, “he knows what we were talking ‘bout.” 

“The vibe of this place, right?” Paul said, directing the question back to Rick. “I caught the back end of your conversation from earlier and I agree. It’s odd that everything is so, still.” And still was indeed the word to describe it. 

“Okay, then.” Rick said, nodding. “Let’s get our asses in gear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, chapter 19! I have to say, "I know I'm paranoid as shit" is probably my favorite line in this whole thing lol 
> 
> There's more Desus coming, I promise! You'll see those chapters probably around Wednesday/Thursday :) Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

Daryl and Paul were making their way quietly back through the hallway that lead to the roof access. The stairway to the roof must be something else because they had to loop back to the front of the hallway near the entrance to the rest of the store just to get to the door. When he got to the door, Daryl looked back to Paul who gave him a reassuring smile and readied himself to the right side. There was a window in this door as well but there was no light coming from the other side. Daryl dropped back to a few paces in front of the door, to be ready for anything that might come at them and gave Paul the okay. All he had to do was push on it, and the door swung open. Once again, it was empty. 

They both had flashlights and clicked them on as they approached the base of the stairs. Daryl was first with his bow drawn, and Paul was at the ready behind him, but there was nothing for them to encounter. “I never thought the absence of the walking dead would freak me out,” Paul whispered to him, “Like, there’s nothing trying to eat us, how weird.” Daryl snorted despite himself, and he shot Paul a dirty look. Somehow the other man caught it in the dark and just grinned back. 

They kept walking, trying not to make any noise, and just as they reached what appeared to be the top of the staircase, Daryl stopped and help up his left hand; he was listening intently and wanted Paul to stop too. He pointed up and whispered, “Do you hear somethin’?” he asked. Paul listened closely but all he could make out was the wind, or what he assumed was the wind. He shrugged his shoulders at Daryl, in a sort of ‘can’t tell either way’ gesture and motioned for them to keep going. Daryl did but almost stopped again immediately when he reached the top of the stairs. 

They were on a platform, with one door just in front of them and another door up a smaller staircase at the far end. They were both listening again but couldn’t make anything out. Paul reached into one of the many pockets lining his coat and pulled out another print out of the store map. “All it says is roof access, doesn’t mention any other rooms.” He said. Daryl crept closer to the door and picked up a sign that had seemingly fallen off the door. It said ‘Employees Only, Stock Room.” He showed it to Paul who nodded back to the door. “Looks like something’s been stuffed into the door jam.” He said, pointing. Daryl reached out, grabbed the edge of what looked like a shirt and pulled; it was a mistake. The smell that wafted from just that small opening was enough to choke them both. 

“Holy shit,” Paul said, stumbling back and covering his mouth with the rag he always kept around his neck. “Fuckin’ hell,” was Daryl’s version. Both men slumped back against the railing at the top of the stairs. 

“Do we even want to try going in there?” Paul asked. Daryl hung his head for a moment. “I doubt somethin’ good happened in there,” he said, “you wanna give it a go?” Paul looked like he’d rather do anything else, but his facial expression was resolved. “We should.” He said. 

Daryl nodded and pushed himself off the railing. He walked toward the door with Paul on his heels and stopped just before it. Somehow, he hadn’t noticed before that it was also padlocked. The other man stepped forward to pick it but handed something to Daryl before stooping down to get at the door handle. Daryl held it up for a moment, before tying the black and white bandana around his nose and mouth. He could only imagine how the smell would be in the room itself and was thankful that Paul had thought ahead. “Ready?” Paul asked. His voice was muffled behind his own bandana, but he knew that he was trying to give him a way out. Daryl nodded and reached forward to squeeze the other man’s shoulder. Paul reached up, squeezed his hand back, dropped it back to the door and slowly opened it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 20 guys! I'm a day late, and I apologize - this cold is hanging on for an annoyingly long time and other than dragging myself to work, most of my time these past few days has been spent sleeping. I will try to do both chapters 20 and 21 today though :) let me know what you think! 
> 
> Additional disclaimer for the next few chapters (20 and 21): Suicide mentioned. I went with No Archive Warnings because if you've watched the show, you're well familiar with how some people handled the apocalypse. If you want to skip these chapters though, that's totally understandable and if you'd like a chapter summary without the gory stuff, feel free to drop me a line.


	21. Chapter 21

It was worse than either of them could have thought possible. Inside the room, there were at least 30 bodies, maybe more. They were all slouched up against the walls or bent over the large table in the middle of the room. They’d been somewhat preserved due to the way they’d been locked up, but Daryl and Paul could tell they’d been there since the beginning. Any flesh that hadn’t already rotted away was left hanging, limp, from decaying bones. Daryl, bandana still in place over his mouth, crept up to one of the bodies – on the lap of one of them, kept in place by the clothing the once person wore, was an empty bottle of sleeping pills. He could see that there were several more bottles scattered around the room as well, on the floor and on the table. Paul, who’d also come further into the room, handed a piece of paper to Daryl. “It was taped to the back of the door,” he said, his voice quiet. It was a suicide note. It read: “We’re sorry. We’ve done all we can, and we hope it gives others a chance. Please forgive us.” 

It was easy to see that these people had given up. The room was empty, other than the people and the blood from nearly 30 head wounds, and with nothing more to see, Daryl walked past Paul and out of the room. Paul followed, and shut the door behind him. 

“Son of a bitch,” Daryl said. He’d walked back over to the railing at the top of the stairs and was leaning over it. Paul nodded. “I don’t understand the note though,” he said in reply. “What chance would mass suicide give others?” 

Daryl had been thinking the same thing, but he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. He’d seen plenty of people give up in this world, but he’d never seen an entire group try to explain themselves. 

“No use wondering, c’mon,” he said, motioning toward the other end of the hall and the door that should lead them up to the roof. “We gotta get up there.” Daryl looked back at Paul, who was nodding again. He was a good person, and Daryl hated that he knew the sight of those people would stick with the with other man for a long time. 

Both men moved slowly toward the other end of the hall. They reached the steps up to the roof access after just a few moments, and Daryl started climbing first; he had his bow raised, as always. It only took another few moments to get to the top of the stairs but once again, both men stopped dead just after they reached the last stair. 

“What the fuck.” Daryl said, more of a statement than a question. This door was padlocked shut as well, and there were more rags and pieces of clothes stuffed into the cracks around the door. “You think there’s another group of them up there?” Paul asked. Daryl shook his head and motioned for Paul for to keep quiet. This time the sounds above them were obvious – shuffling and groaning. 

“No wonder we haven’t been able to hear them.” Paul said. The cloth around the door had been taped over, and even though they could hear the dead above them now plainly, it was apparent that someone had tried to prevent them from discovering what was up there. “That’s what the note meant.” He continued. “They must have lured the dead up here and locked them on the roof. Then they figured there was nothing left for them elsewhere and decided to do themselves a favor.” Daryl looked at him sharply, but Paul just shrugged. “If you weren’t already used to surviving, what would you have done?” Daryl had to admit he was probably right. 

“What now?” Paul continued. “There’s no way to tell how many are up there.” Daryl had been pacing the floor as he spoke and was about to say they should head back and figure out another way to scout; the room they’d checked was one thing, but an unknown number of walkers was another. Just then, a thunderous cracking sound pierced the air. It sounded like a whip had been snapped, and Daryl and Paul had barely turned back toward the door when it splintered and dozens of the dead came lumbering toward them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 21. I'm going to repeat the Disclaimer from the last chapter: Suicide mentioned. It's the end result of suicide, and its not overly graphic, but I want to warn just incase. As per the note from the last chapter, if you'd like a chapter summary without actually reading the chapter, just let me know. 
> 
> Also, cliffhanger! Mwahahaha
> 
> Added Note: Someone mentioned that I made a mistake in that even after the suicides, the people would've turned since everyone is infected. Thank you, first of all, person who pointed it out, and I added just a quick little fix. Course, if it was that early into the whole thing, they wouldn't know everyone was infected, so lets say these people saw someone else turn who hadn't been bitten and chose one person to finish the job once everyone had died. That would make the note they left make more sense, and we can say that the person who prevented them from turning was one of the ones in the store when our group got there. Phew! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comments are much appreciated!


	22. Chapter 22

Daryl didn’t have any time to think. He swung his bow off his back on pure instinct and started firing into the group of walkers; Paul was right next to him, with a knife in each hand. For some reason neither of them had taken one of the rifles they’d found, as they both preferred hand to hand, and were now forced to showcase their skills as they fired and swung, respectively, at the dead. Daryl knew he’d run out of bolts eventually and switched to using his hunting knife, but he and Paul were having a hard time keeping pace with the steady flow of walkers from the roof. Paul was taking on 4 at once, kicking and dodging and slicing and stabbing - Daryl flung one of his smaller knives into the throng, and saw Paul pull it out of the head of one of the walkers and use it again to take out the legs of another that was closing in on him. Daryl went back to his own fight and noticed that the tide of dead was slowly starting to even out. He pushed his knife through the underside of a walker’s jaw and pushed it into 3 others that were behind it. Just as he planned, it stemmed the flow from the roof as the others tried to figure out how to get past the obstacle now in their way. It gave them a chance. 

“Get to the roof!” he shouted at Paul, who had no doubt taken notice of what he was doing and had stooped down to finish of those that were still moving. Both men started to make their way toward the door to the roof, taking out as many as they could as they went. They had to nearly jump over the growing pile of dead by the door but managed to make it out onto the roof still upright. It was a good thing too, because there was another group of maybe 10 walkers that were making their way toward them. They also had to deal with those behind them that had realized their meal had moved and were now trying to get back out onto the roof. 

Daryl took a few more steps, making himself more in line with the center of the roof, and angled himself toward the walkers that were making their way toward them from the other side. Paul seemed to understand, and without having to be told, walked over quickly and put his back against Daryl’s. This put him face to face with the walkers coming back outside and almost immediately, he started to take them down with quick, accurate jabs of his knife. Daryl pulled his crossbow off ff his back again and started to aim while the walkers on the roof were still some paces away. Unfortunately, at that moment, Paul pushed up against his back hard, as if he’d been pushed himself, and Daryl went down with a grunt. The roof was uneven, so it made his fall even harder, rolling him a few feet away and putting him right in front of the group of dead staggering toward him. “Daryl!” Paul shouted in alarm.

Daryl had avoided hitting his head went he fell, but everything was sore as he tried to get back to his feet. He could see Paul trying to get to him, but the walkers on his end were too close and too many, and Daryl couldn’t stand to let him handle it all alone. He pushed up onto his feet, bow in hand, and fired two bolts in quick succession, each one hitting one of the two walkers on either side of Paul. Then he swung back around and tried to fire once more at the walkers coming toward him, but he wasn’t fast enough. The first was on him in the blink of an eye, pushing him back down onto the roof, jaw snapping just inches above him. He heard Paul shout again – something in his voice told Daryl that he was terrified. He wasn’t sure if that’s what had done it, hearing the fear in Paul’s voice, but he managed to roll out from under the thing above him and sunk his knife through its eye socket. A moment later, he staggered back to his feet again and took down two more of the closest walkers. Paul ran over to join him, after having finished with his own group, and together, they took down the rest.

It had only taken a few minutes all in all, but Daryl was exhausted. After he pulled his knife out of the last walkers head, he put it back in its sheath and was starting to sink back onto the roof for a well-deserved break, when something collided with him and nearly sent him toppling over again. It was Paul; the other man had his arms wrapped around Daryl’s waist and was clinging to him for dear life. Daryl held him for a moment but panicked when he realized that he could be hurt. “Wait, hold up,” he said, trying to push Paul back a bit to get a good look at him. Paul wouldn’t let him though – as soon as he picked his head up, his eyes filled with tears, he pushed forward again and sealed his lips with Daryl's. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go guys! Resolution to last chapter's cliffhanger and some Desus goodness! Also, as of posting Chapter 21 yesterday, we've reached the halfway mark in this monstrosity! I'm confident that I won't be changing anything else chapter wise, so I updated the chapter count as well :) 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

It was like time stopped. Daryl would say later that he was almost sure his heart stopped too, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. As soon as Paul’s lips touched his, he pulled the other man into him. Paul let out a surprised squeak but didn’t protest, just sighed happily into the kiss. He sighed again when Daryl brought his hands to his face, cupping his cheeks. It was a long, slow kiss and Paul pouted when Daryl pulled away to look at him. 

“Ya okay?” he asked. Paul nodded. “Yeah,” he said, his eyes downcast, “just, you scared the shit out of me.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead against Daryl’s. “I guess when I figured out you were okay I was so happy I couldn’t control myself anymore.” He chuckled. 

Daryl’s eyebrows wrinkled. “What do ya mean, control?” he said. Paul looked down at the roof again. “I didn’t want our first kiss to be like this. It’s not exactly romantic.” He said. Any concern Daryl had went right out the window. He snorted. “This is hella romantic, if that’s whatcha want.” He said. Pulled looked up at him. “Kiss means we ain’t getting chewed on.” It was Paul’s turn to snort. 

“Oh yeah, very romantic, Dixon.” He said. Daryl swatted at him and pulled him in again for another kiss. This time, the kiss was all heat – Daryl could hardly believe it was happening. All these weeks of wondering and overthinking and all that had to happen was a near death experience. Go figure. 

A few minutes later – it could have been an hour, Daryl wasn’t sure – they pulled away from each other. The sky was starting to darken, not by much but they could tell it was getting later. “We should probably do that scouting we said we were going to do.” Paul said. He was smirking though and leaned up to Daryl for one more kiss. 

Daryl rolled his eyes and followed the other man to the edge of the roof. Now that he was paying attention, Daryl thought that it was amazing how much they could see. Apparently, Paul agreed because he whistled. “That is a great place to scout.” He said enthusiastically, pulling out the makeshift map Maggie had given them. From their view, they could see that the hospital they were hoping to get to was about 10 blocks away now. It looked huge, with at least 6 floors and several different wings attached to the main building. A lot of the details were too small because they were so far away, but they could tell that it was intact.

After identifying the hospital, they switched their focus to the rest of town. From what they could tell, the main road they’d been travelling on since getting into town was the only main road. There were plenty of side streets but they all lead back to the main one, which was labeled as Valley Road, after the town no doubt. This same road also lead out of town, which was a single exit to the state’s main highway about a mile and a half past the hospital. As far as escape routes were concerned, they’d need to be careful; a lot of those side streets were cul-de-sacs that just lead around in circles and if for some reason the exit out of town was blocked, they’d need to circle back around to how they got in. 

“Ain’t ideal.” Daryl said, stating the obvious. He’d started marking the cul-de-sacs on the map, so they wouldn’t get caught in one if they were in a rush, but other than that, there was only so much they could do about a rural small town. 

“I think we should run with Rick’s plan and get some supplies in place, scattered around the area a bit. Pick some houses and stash packs and extra water under porches or in some of the vehicles we passed. We’ll have to take the main road no matter which way we go so as long as we have something to grab if need be, we should be okay.” Paul said. It was hard not to smile at his optimism. 

“I think we should find another place to lay low, too, just in case.” Daryl added. “The place we’re at now is at the beginning of town, would make sense to pick somewhere else near the exit if we gotta scram but can’t get all the way out.” They’d normally have this sort of contingency in place in case a herd swept through the area; now they needed it because no one knew when or if the Saviors would decide to come a’knockin. 

“Makes sense.” Paul said. It was getting on dusk now, and since they’d already seen all they could see, they were talking over their ideas as they went back down to join the others. They had to step over numerous bodies and had to cover their mouths again as they passed the suicide room, but soon enough they were back in the hallway that would lead them back to the main part of the store. Daryl figured they would stop back in to sporting goods quickly to see if it had been cleaned out, but as he started to walk that way, Paul grabbed his wrist. “Wait,” he said. He pulled himself toward Daryl and leaned in for a kiss. It was Daryl’s turn to sigh – when he did, he felt Paul smile against his lips. They must have lost track of time again because too soon they heard a throat clear behind them. “Shit.” Daryl said before even turning to see who it was; Paul just laughed. 

“It’s about damn time!” Daryl should have known that Glenn would be the one to point it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 23 and the aftermath of the kiss! So sorry again for the delay; I'm still sick, and that fact makes me want to cry. Tomorrow will be two weeks of this death cold and I'm not bitter at all. 
> 
> Let me know what y'all think! And thank you for reading!


	24. Chapter 24

Apparently, they’d taken longer than the others thought they would, so they sent Glenn to check on them. Daryl wasn’t sure why Glenn had been their first choice, but he wasn’t about to say that to the man himself. 

In the time he and Paul had been handling things upstairs, the rest of their group had nearly finished cleaning the place out. Rick and Carl had taken charge of sporting goods first, while Maggie, Glenn and Tara handled the pharmacy, and Aaron and Eric had started with the home department and worked their way down. From what Glenn was saying, they’d started filling plastic storage totes they’d found to make bringing their haul back easier. It was a big haul – they’d found plenty of bandages, some more pain killers and low-end disinfectant; towels and blankets; 4 different sets of walkie-talkies, just like Maggie has wanted; plenty of candles and matches; some additional clothes for the children, some cloth diapers that would come in handy for Grace and their newest addition; coloring books and crayons for Judy along with a nice doll for her; rain jackets and outerwear for the coming fall and winter, and plenty of new, dry socks. This was not to mention the personal items they’d grabbed; like Daryl and Paul earlier with the knives and gloves, Rick had found new boots for both Carl and Michonne, Tara found several sports-bras for her and the other ladies to pick through, Enid had grabbed a pack of rainbow colored hair ties and a few elastic head bands, Glenn had grabbed a back-support pillow for Maggie and Eric had shown her and Glenn the special license-plate shaped keychain he was going to try to surprise Aaron with. 

Glenn kept chattering until they found their back to the rest of the group. They were officially done and looked at them like they’d been waiting forever. “There y’all are!” Maggie exclaimed, pulling both men in for a hug. Rick walked over and clapped Daryl on the back. “How’s it look?” he asked. Of course, this was a complicated question, one which made Daryl and Paul launch into the story of what they’d encountered and of what they’d found when they did their scouting. 

“Shit.” Rick said when they were finished. Daryl wasn’t sure which part he was more upset about. “It’ll be fine.” Maggie said – they all knew which part she was focused on. “We’re glad you guys are okay, and I’m sorry you had to get through all that just to not find a whole lot.” Paul shrugged and squeezed her hand. “It’s okay,” he said, looking back at Daryl, “at least we know the basics.” Daryl nodded to reassure her. 

“Okay then,” she said, her eyes intense, “we can start looking at the route out of here and other places to stay while we make our way to the hospital. We’ve been talking while we’ve been waiting, and we want to get on that first thing tomorrow morning. I really want to try to set us all up at the hospital rather than another store or house, but you’re right, we should have a backup just in case. We can start tomorrow with a just-in-case place to stay, and stash some supplies is strategic places.” Rick was nodding along as she spoke. “A vehicle would be good too, something we can use in case we need to get away fast. It’ll take a few trips to get everything set up either way, and it’ll take a while to clear the hospital when we get there, but I think it’ll be worth it in the long run. How’s that sounding to everyone?”

Daryl looked around – everyone was nodding. Even if they thought it was a bad idea, it was the only idea they had, and no one wanted to oppose Maggie. “Good.” She said. “Let’s get back, get rested and get ready to go bright and early. We've got a lot to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 24! Just a little filler chapter - we'll be at the hospital within the next few chapters! Thanks for sticking with this everyone! I really appreciate those who've read it and those who've left feedback!


	25. Chpater 25

Just as it had to get to the department store in the first place, it took them about an hour to get back. It was dark by the time they did, but because it was cooler, even Rick looked glad that the sun had gone down. They managed to bring everything back in one trip and had stopped to store a backpack full of supplies at one of the houses they’d already cleared – the pack was left in a closet on the first floor, and they left the front door open, just a few inches, to give the house the appearance that it had been ransacked. The front fence was already broken and there were tire treads pressed into the grass next to the driveway, so they didn’t have to do much to make it look that way. Rick had already decided that that would be the last stop of the day, as everyone was exhausted, so when they finished they all picked up again and pressed back on toward the convenience store. When they got there, the only people still awake were Michonne and Rosita; Enid was curled up with her head resting against Michonne’s shoulder and both Judy and Grace were asleep in their carriers. It must have been later than they thought. 

Rosita got up as soon as the group came through the door, taking some of the load as they all piled their new items into the store’s backroom. Daryl, who’d been carrying two of the large plastic totes almost the entire way from the department store, groaned as he set them down. “I’m gettin’ too fuckin’ old for this shit,” he said, earning a chuckle from Rick. “You and me both, brother,” the man said. He’d also been charged with carrying a heavier burden, a tote and a large over-the-shoulder duffel bag they’d found in sporting goods. He opened the bag and started emptying the contents, more ammunition, into the container carrying the weaponry they’d found at the thrift store. 

“You guys should try this,” she said, one hand resting on her protruding belly. “I gotta say, I wouldn’t change this for the world, but he’s gettin’ heavy.” She laughed. “You thinkin’ it’s a boy?” Rick asked. She nodded, “Yeah, I had a dream about it. Glenn kept calling him Ralph in the dream, which I said no to as soon as I woke up, but I like the idea of it being a boy.” 

Both Daryl and Rick laughed – they could imagine Glenn trying to pull some ridiculous name. “I should have at least another month to go, if not a little longer.” She said. She’d been reading up on pregnancy and birth while still at the Hilltop and had managed to find a few more books on the subject since then, and Daryl knew that Glenn had been sneaking looks at them when he didn’t think anyone was looking. “Nothing’s for sure unfortunately, and I’d really like for him to go full-term, but I just don’t know.” She was anxious, Daryl could tell from the way she was talking, and he wished he knew of any concrete way to help her. “We’ll get ya through it, girl,” he said. “If getting into that hospital is the best thing we can do for ya, then we’ll do it. We ain’t gonna leave you hangin’.” 

She smiled at him. “I know you guys think we’re rushin’ getting into the hospital, but I think it’ll be best for all of us. Big place with plenty of room both inside and out, and plenty of resources.” While she’d been speaking, Glenn and Paul had walked over. Glenn wrapped his arms around his wife, and Paul came to a stop next to Daryl. 

“I think it’s a good thing, too, Mag,” Rick said, “This place is in pretty good shape considering. I just don’t want us rushin’ so much that we make mistakes. And I don’t want you pushing yourself too much.” He looked directly at her as he said it, and she rolled her eyes. “You sound like Glenn.” She said, looking up at the man in question. He smiled back at her. 

“They’re both right,” Paul said. “We can do this, we just need to make sure we stay on our toes and do it the right way. Something about the turtle always winning the race, right?” He said, smirking. Glenn snorted. “Like you and Daryl, right?” he said. He was positively beaming. 

“You watch that shit.” Daryl said menacingly, glaring at him. Glenn just laughed; so did Paul. 

“What’re you on about?” Maggie asked. Glenn wouldn’t stop grinning long enough to say anything, so Paul took mercy (if you could call it mercy) on Daryl, grabbed his hand, and dragged him back out into the main store to bed down for the night. They knew the conversation would continue, however, especially when they heard a high-pitched squeal from behind them. 

“I’m gonna kick his punk ass,” Daryl said. Paul didn’t even acknowledge the threat. They walked over to the side of the store they’d both slept in the previous night, but instead of separating, Paul made himself comfortable in the same spot Daryl had had the night before. When Daryl quirked an eyebrow at him, Paul just patted the floor next to him, signaling Daryl to sit down. He rolled his eyes but sat down anyways. When he finished settling, Paul was looking at him. 

“I figured they’d find out sooner rather than later,” he said, pointing with his chin to the backroom where the rest of the group was no doubt still talking. Daryl rolled his eyes. “Buncha gossips,” he said. Paul nodded, but he was still looking at Daryl – he hadn’t taken his eyes off him since they sat down. “What?” he asked, his southern drawl bleeding through the words. 

Paul’s look was intense. “It’s okay if they all know, right? We’re not trying to hide this, us?” He asked. He tacked on the ‘us’ at the end like he wasn’t sure Daryl would agree. Daryl had wanted them to be an us for a while, but now that it was happening, he had to admit he was a bit flustered. He had never been good at handling this type of stuff, so that wasn’t odd in of itself; he was just tired of making a fool of himself. 

“Course its ok,” Daryl said. “I just like taking the piss outta Glenn, that’s all.” At that, Paul’s eyes lit up and it was amazing how something so subtle could make Daryl’s stomach twist. “Good,” was all he said before leaning in for a kiss. It was gentle and quick and within a few seconds Paul had pulled away to lean his head against Daryl’s shoulder. Daryl continued to look at the other man for a few minutes, reveling in the fact that they were being allowed a moment like this. When he looked up, both Aaron and Eric were grinning at him from across the way. Eric gave him an exuberant thumbs’ up, making Aaron snort in amusement. Daryl didn’t even bother flipping them off – he figured the glare would suffice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 25! I feel like an actual human today! Woo! lol I'm looking to post both this one and Chapter 26 today; then we're at the hospital! Dun-dun-dun! Enjoy some cute Desus and some sassy Eric in the meantime. 
> 
> Thanks for reading y'all! Remember, writers run on comments and caffeine.


	26. Chapter 26

Daryl woke up wondering why he was so warm. He cracked his eyes open to find Paul still lounged against his chest, just like he’d been when they fell asleep. This time though he was awake and was reading one of the books he’d picked up at the thrift store. He couldn’t see the title from the way Paul was holding it, but he could tell he was at least a few chapters in. 

“How long you been up?” Daryl asked. Paul didn’t even flinch when he spoke; he must have known he was awake. “Not too long,” he said, “maybe half an hour. I’m a fast reader.” He grinned up at Daryl, who grinned back and leaned down for a quick kiss. It ended up not being so quick however, as they were forced to break apart several minutes later when Maggie came over. 

“Y’all are adorable,” she said, smirking like the cat who got the cream, “and I hate to interrupt, but we gotta get going. Wanna get out before the sun starts gettin’ too high.” Daryl followed her gaze out the front window of the store, and while it was still dark, he could tell the sun wasn’t too far from coming up. “Rick and most of the others are awake already,” she continued, “and we’ve gone over the plan. Once we get to edge of town, we’ll see if we can pick a backup spot to stay if need be, then we’ll move on to the hospital. Carl and Enid are gonnna stay behind, and some of the more capable Hilltoppers are going to come along in their place. We need all the help we can get today.” 

Both Paul and Daryl nodded, and when Maggie wandered back to the others, they started gathering their things. Within a few minutes they had joined the others as they gathered at the front of the store. “Maggie fill ya’ll in?” Rick asked as they approached the group. Daryl nodded as he watched Paul walk over to Maggie, who was talking to the few Hilltoppers who would be going with them to clear the hospital. 

“I’m happy for ya,” “Rick said from behind him. When Daryl turned back, as he’d been watching Paul the whole time, Rick was smiling. “After all the shit we’re still going through, it’s nice to know the good still happens too.” As he said it, he looked at Michonne, who noticed and smiled back, and at Carl and Enid, who were talking together. Daryl had to agree with that; Paul was always the thing that Daryl knew he had to keep fighting for. “Thanks, man.” He said. Even after all this time, a light blush still stained his cheeks when things got too mushy. Rick chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. 

Maggie, Paul and the others joined them shortly after his and Rick’s exchange, and they briefly ran over the plan again: they’d start with a backup location, a vehicle if they could find one, then they’d get started on the hospital. They wanted to have enough time to get it cleared out, especially since it would take a bit to get to that end of town, so Maggie wanted to make sure they finished the other things before noon. Once they got to the hospital, they’d start with a brief sweep of the area surrounding the buildings and the first floor, most likely by Rick, Daryl and Paul, and then they’d work their way up in pairs or groups of three. It sounded like a pretty solid plan so after making sure everyone understood, they said their goodbyes to those staying behind and headed out in into the early light of morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> # 26 as promised! Let me know what y'all think!


	27. Chapter 27

“You’re not too mad at me, right?” Glenn asked Daryl as they made their way along the town’s main street. They’d only been walking for a few minutes and Daryl could already tell it was going to be a long day. Paul snorted from beside Daryl. “He threatened to beat your ass last night.” He said. Glenn blanched a bit at that, but everyone else laughed. Glenn knew he was joking too, so he playfully pretended to stumble when Daryl knocked into him. 

At this point, they were all secure in that fact that the town itself was secure. They hadn’t seen a single person or walker, outside those in they encountered trapped in buildings, so it was a leisurely walk in that sense. They did check to make sure the supplies they left the evening before were still intact, but otherwise they had no problem moving about the area. It took about an hour and a half in total, at a brisk pace, to reach the edge of town; the hospital was located about 20 minutes past that, per the map. They hadn’t been able to see much of the finer details at this end of town when they’d scouted, since there were so many trees, so they were pleasantly surprised when they came across a large, intact maintenance garage next to a long stretch of train tracks. The tracks essentially separated the hospital from the rest of the town, but the main road cut through the tracks and led right up to it; the maintenance garage was on the side closest to town. 

“Looks like a good place to set up shop if it comes down to it,” Rick said. It took about 10 minutes to clear the place, as it was larger than it looked from the outside and there were two floors. Not a single walker blocked their path though, so after making sure the doors and windows were secure, Rick and Maggie started going over the logistics of how best to make the place ready if they ever needed to use it. It just came down to putting supplies in place, away from any direct line of sight, and making sure the large front doors were locked but not obviously. They had brought a few packs with them in hopes they’d find something suitable - two larger packs filled with blankets, general medical supplies and enough food and water for at least a few days. 

“This’ll have to do for now.” Maggie said. They were taking a quick rest break before moving on, standing under a large tree on one side of the garage, passing a large water canteen back and forth. “Depending on how it goes in there,” she said pointing to the silhouette of the hospital they could see looming several miles ahead, “and if we need to go back to the convenience store for anything, we can always grab a few more things to keep in place here. I at least want to put one of those sets of walkie-talkies with the supplies but didn’t want to risk bringing more than one set just in case.” She patted the backpack she was carrying, which held one half of a set of walkie-talkies – Carl had the other back at the store. They always tried to keep in touch and having another set elsewhere would ensure their ability to communicate in the event they were forced to leave the bulk of their supplies behind. 

“This is definitely a good start.” Glenn said, coming up behind his wife. He helped her up from where she’d been sitting and steadied her when she swayed a little. “I think we should leave a few things back at the convenience store too in case we can’t get out of town this way and have to swing back. If the goal is to eventually move the whole operation to the hospital, we should make sure we have supplies to grab no matter which way we go.”

He looked to Maggie as he said this, who nodded and looked to Rick. They had started moving forward toward the hospital again, and Daryl knew, even from a few paces away, that moving everyone to the opposite side of town made him nervous. Even if it had been the goal from the beginning, he was hesitant to uproot what they’d already done. Maggie could sense his reluctance and said, “We don’t have to do it all at once. Either way, we need to clear the place out and make sure it’s worth it before we do anythin’.” Rick sighed. “I know,” he said, “I just don’t wanna go making too many plans before we even get there.” 

Daryl knew this was another concern, even to Glenn and Maggie. What would happen if they got to the hospital and it wasn’t livable? Whether it be walkers or other people or even just bad conditions, it was a real possibility. He could hear them all talking again, Glenn and Maggie and Rick, and decided he’d rather stay out of that conversation for now. Quite a few of the others felt the same, and within a few minutes he was walking and talking with a small group. 

“Even if this place is clear, it’s going to be a bitch.” Rosita said. “I have a hard time believing the place hasn’t been touched. I’m sure someone saw it from the highway.” 

“I don’t know,” Paul said. He’d been walking with Daryl the entire way and had only backtracked a little to line up with Tara and Rosita when they joined with them. “It seems like the place was really idyllic in the beginning, like no one believed they’d eventually leave. Like most of the department store, maybe they only stuck to what they thought they’d need in the short term.” 

“That would make sense.” Aaron joined in; Eric was nodding along. “Unless people in an area have gone through bad things before, usually they don’t believe that things will stay bad for long. I think those people you told us about in the department store, the ones who killed themselves, must have been holed up for a few weeks. By then they probably figured it was useless to try to get out.” 

Daryl had been thinking while the others were talking. He tended to agree with what Paul and Aaron were saying – not only did he want to believe that the hospital was clear, but he figured it was based on how little they’d had to deal with so far. If most of the town’s population had either fled or gotten bit and were lured into the high school, their path going forward should be an easy one. “I think we’ll be good,” he said. “There may be a few dead bastards roaming the place, but if the folks here had the presence of mind to get ‘em all to the other end of town, chances are we’re good.” 

His people apparently weren’t used to him being so positive because he got more than a few stares. Most of them nodded though, even Rosita looked like she grudgingly accepted his idea. Paul leaned into him as they continued walking. “It’s easier for them to be positive when the grumpy one’s positive too,” he said. Daryl snorted. “Ain’t grumpy.” He said, scowling. “Tell that to your face, then.” Eric piped up from the back. At that, Daryl scowled even more but he couldn’t keep a straight face for long – he laughed right along with the rest of the them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 27! We're almost to the hospital now folks! We'll get out first glimpse next chapter - I'll try to post it today, but it'll depend on how much time I have. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :)


	28. Chapter 28

They walked for another mile or so until they came to the tree line that kept most of the hospital buildings hidden from view. They stopped just before it, so they could go over what they’d all been taking about. Turns out even Rick agreed with Daryl’s sentiment that the hospital would most likely be clear, but they wouldn’t forego being cautious just yet. The plan remained the same, of how they’d go about clearing the place, so it was only a few minutes before the group broke through the trees and were able to catch their first unobstructed glimpse of the hospital. It wasn’t exactly what they’d been hoping for, however. 

The first thing they saw were two large dump trucks piled high with decomposing bodies; they were parked side-by-side by the main entrance to the hospital. It wasn’t exactly an odd sight nowadays, as when the outbreak first started, most hospitals tried to keep up with infection control before the military took over the situation. It was disconcerting though how many bodies there were – there were even more of them lined up in rows beside the trucks. Daryl wondered if the small town had had a population explosion right before everything went to hell. 

“Alright,” he heard Rick breathe from the front of the group. “They’re just bodies, nothing we ain’t seen before. Let’s get into the lot and go from there.” He started forward, with Maggie, Glenn, Daryl and Paul behind him, and the others followed in short order. As they got closer, Daryl and Paul pulled their bandana’s over their faces and they could see the others looking for anything they could cover their mouths with. The stench wasn’t as bad as it had been in the locked room in the department store, but the air was saturated and heavy. Some of the bodies, those that were father away from the entrance, had been wrapped securely in sheets while those closest to the doors and most of those in the trucks hadn’t been wrapped at all. All the ones they could see had head wounds. 

When they got past the trucks, they could see into the first floor of the hospital. The doors were wide open, and they could see maybe 7 or 8 more bodies inside, piled up near the front desk, but nothing moved. Daryl took that as a good sign.

He walked over to Rick, who was peering inside. The other man looked up as he came over. “This place looks the like the hospital I woke up in, outside of Atlanta. Hopefully it’s in better shape on the inside,” he said. Daryl nodded – he didn’t doubt that a lot of places in and around the city had been a cluster.

“We doing this?” The question came from Maggie, who had walked up behind the two men. Glenn was standing a few feet behind her, looking anxious. “Hell yeah,” Daryl said, not even bothering to wait for Rick to say something. The other man was nodding along anyway, “I don’t see a reason not to.” 

Both Maggie and Glenn let out a sigh. “Okay, good.” She said, smiling. “Who’s going in?” she asked. Daryl and Rick both gestured to themselves, as Paul walked over and did the same; they’d already decided that it would be the three of them, but they never knew when plans were going to change. “Okay,” she said, “we’ll wait out here for a signal, or for someone to come get us. Just sweep the first floor, and the stairwell leading up to the second, and then we can get started.” She was practically beaming at them. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Daryl said, shooting a mock salute in her direction. Both Rick and Paul nodded at her and Glenn, and with a quick look back at the rest of the group, they walked through the open doors and into the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 28: our group arrives at the hospital! 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! I appreciate everyone who's read, kudosed and commented so far!


	29. Chapter 29

The first floor was as empty as they suspected. Other than the bodies they’d seen through the door, there were only two others; they were both toward the back of the lobby and one looked like it had been fed on by the other. The only thing that pointed toward the hospital ever being a bustling facility was a notice that appeared to have fallen off the front desk. It proclaimed that the other hospitals in the area, in other towns and cities along the highway, were routing their patients there due to the mass amounts of people being admitted; the notice asked for patience while the staff sorted everyone out. When he read it, Daryl thought back to what it was like when the outbreak first started: everyone thought that it would pass, and that they could control it until it did. At least it helped explain the number of bodies outside. 

Daryl heard a grunt behind him, and saw that Rick was trying to push the door to the stairwell open. “The hell?” he heard the man growl. “I think there’s somethin’ blockin it” he said. He and Paul exchanged a look and walked over to the other man. They couldn’t see though the small window in the door, but by the way Rick was straining, they could tell he was being met with resistance. “Okay, push in,” Daryl said to Rick, coming to rest his shoulder against the door next to him. Between the two of them, they were able to push hard enough to dislodge whatever was behind the door just enough to open it a small amount. Paul slipped in through the opening and called out once he got to the other side. “It’s a med-cart, looks like it rolled down the stairs. I’ll get it moved,” he said. 

While Paul was moving the cart, Daryl turned to look at Rick, who had begun pacing. “That don’t mean anything, man,” he said. “Coulda just come down when people was runnin’ to get out.” Daryl assumed that the man feared someone had purposefully blocked the stairwell, most likely to keep walkers making it out of the building. There weren’t any walkers in the stairwell, though, or any bodies, according to Paul who popped his head out a few moments later. “It’s all clear,” he said. Daryl moved forward and opened the door all the way; when he got inside, by the light of his flashlight, he could see that Paul was already at the second-floor landing. 

“Can ya see anythin’ through the door?” he said. “Yeah,” the other man called down, “I don’t see anything,” he said. He banged on the door, three quick raps of his fist, and shouted down to Daryl again after about a minute. “Nothing. No walkers and no visible bodies” he said. He looked back to Rick, who was standing behind him in the stairwell’s doorway. “You wanna go get the others?” he said. The other man nodded, not quite smiling but Daryl could tell that some of the tension had been lifted from him. “You two head on up,” he said, “start seeing what you can find. I’m gonna see about sending a couple people through the ward down here, then the rest of us’ll be up.” 

Once he finished speaking, Rick turned and quickly walked back into the hospital lobby. Daryl watched him walk away, then started up to the stairs to meet Paul at the second-floor landing. When he got there, Paul was still leaning over the railing, looking down at the first floor. He chuckled. “He probably knows the chewing out he’ll get from Maggie if he doesn’t get her in here ASAP,” he said. Daryl snorted. “Ain’t that the truth,” he responded, “We’d be getting’ our asses beat too though, so I don’t mind ‘im runnin’ off.” 

Paul laughed as Daryl pulled open the door to the second floor. It had been hot and humid in the stairwell, so the breeze coming in from the open window behind the nurse’s station was a welcome relief. Daryl circled around the large desk and started pulling open draws and shuffling through papers.

“We suddenly have a need for office supplies?” Paul asked. He was leaning up against the opposite side of the desk. “Nah, smartass,” he said, not even bothering to look up from his search, “we’re gonna need keys to get into any of the good stuff in this place.” When he looked up, Paul’s eyebrows were almost to his hairline. Daryl rolled his eyes. “My brother was a addict and a asshole,” he said, “most of my time before all this was either doing stupid shit with him or trying to keep him from doing even stupider shit.” His eyes had been downcast as he spoke, as they always were when he talked about Merle, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking up at Paul again. The other man was smiling gently. “Maggie told me about him,” he said, “and she also told me that you don’t like talking about it. You know you can share anything with me, right?” His eyes were so hopeful that it took all of Daryl’s control not to spill everything right there.

“I know,” he said, pulling the man into him and burying his head into Paul’s shoulder. Apparently, Paul was ready for the embrace, because he nearly melted into it. Both men felt that it was more than a hug – it was a promise, and Daryl would be damned if he couldn’t keep it. “God, when did we get so mushy,” Paul said as he pulled away, pressing a kiss to Daryl’s lips and wiping tears from his own eyes. Daryl just smiled; he knew exactly when it had all started and it was all Paul’s fault. 

He turned back to the nurses’ desk and started rummaging for the keys again. Paul took the que to continue looking over the area, but not before sneaking up behind Daryl and giving his ass a smart slap. “Oi!” Daryl yelped, whipping around and turning beet red all within a matter of a second. Paul just grinned innocently and wandered off. Daryl thought his knees were going to collapse – that man would be the death of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 29, Happy Monday Y'all! We're finally into the hospital! Pretty much the rest of the fic is going to revolve around it. This chapter pretty much has it all though - worried Rick, emotionally constipated but working on it Daryl, and flirty, sassy Paul. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think and as per usul, thank you so much for reading!


	30. Chapter 30

The door to the second-floor swing open just as Daryl found the keys. They’d somehow ended up under the desk and Daryl stood back up just in time to see Rick step out from the stairwell to hold the door open for Glenn, who then held it for Maggie. She was followed by Tara, Aaron, Eric and Rosita and soon they were all gathered around the desk, looking the around the place trying to figure out the best way to start. 

“How’s it going up here?” Maggie asked. She looked tired, but Daryl could tell that she wasn’t ready to quit yet. “Ain’t sure yet,” he said, “just found the damn keys to the cabinets and shit. Doesn’t look like much’s been touched though.” That was definitely the truth – other than some scattered papers and a rather disconcerting spray of now dried blood on the wall opposite the desk, this floor was as empty and deserted as the first. 

“He’s right,” Paul confirmed, rounding a corner from what Daryl presumed was a long hallway full of patient rooms. He must have heard the others come up the stairs. “Pretty much everything is intact. Someone cleaned out the bandage supply, but none of the other cabinets were opened and all the rooms seems empty. I also found a hospital directory.” As he said it, he reached into his bag and pulled out a small binder, which he held out for Maggie to take. “That has lists of everything that should be stocked in the various wards. Who knows if it’s accurate, but it’ll at least help us navigate the place. And, it has a directory printed on the back – the maternity ward is on the 4th floor." 

Glenn, who’d been looking over Maggie’s shoulder as she looked at the binder, let out a little whoop of joy. He wrapped his arms around his wife, who laughed happily as he pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek. It was as if a wave of relief swept over the group then – they still had work to do, and nothing was ever certain, but knowing that this was a step toward what would hopefully be another healthy baby made it all seem worth it. 

As the soon to be parents were still wrapped up in the moment, the others started drifting through the hall, giving Maggie and Glenn a few moments to revel in their stroke of good luck. Paul had stepped up beside Daryl at some point and grabbed his hand as they both went to turn away. He grinned up at Daryl, who smiled back and pulled the other man toward Rick, who looked happy for the first time in days. 

Rick turned to them. “This place is pretty clean, all things considered, but I think we need to check the rest of it out before we get our hopes up too much.” Daryl snorted at that, and Rick sighed as he continued. “I just wanna get it all checked out, you know? Make sure there’s no nasty surprise waiting for us. Michonne and the Hilltoppers are clearing out the downstairs ward, and I want to do the same with rest. Obviously, once we clear it, Maggie and Glenn will take point in the maternity ward, but would you two be up to going through the rest?”

At this point, Daryl and Paul were used to getting sent off on their own; they didn’t even look to each other before nodding their assent. Rick nodded back, “Good,” he said, “Let me know when maternity is all clear, and take your time going through the rest. We’ll be here for a while.” He turned away as he finished speaking, clapping both Daryl and Paul on the shoulder as he passed, and then walked on down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 30, 12 more to go! Thanks for reading guys, don't hesitate to let me know what you think!


	31. Chapter 31

The excited chattering of the rest of the group could still be heard as Daryl and Paul made their way up to the third-floor entrance. Paul was still grinning from his earlier find, and Daryl wanted to kiss it off his lips; he had to admit though, he found himself wanting to grin too just from the sheer force of Paul’s obvious joy. 

“From the looks of that directory,” Paul said, “the third floor Is mostly just more patient rooms, plus a couple of conference rooms. Then from there, it’s the maternity ward, the ICU on the 5th floor and the mental ward on the 6th. Those keys you found should get us into most cabinets and closets, and I’m sure they’ll be more sets of them as we go. We can pass them around if needed.” 

Daryl snorted. “Told ya those keys would come in handy,” he said. Paul just rolled his eyes; the grin was still in place. 

The door to the third floor was wide open, and although there was no noticeable movement, Daryl raised his bow as they walked through the door. This floor was messier than the others – the visitor chairs in the main lobby were strewn about, mixed with long out of date magazines and pamphlets about different hospital services. Just before the doors to the rest of the ward, there was another overturned med-cart with medication bottles scattered around it. Paul vaulted over the cart, gracefully enough that even Daryl recognized it, and took short stock of what was on the other side of the doors. “There’s at least one body,” he said. 

When Daryl came up behind him, he could see in the light from the hall windows what must have been a young nurse, her formerly purple scrub top a dingy black from the wound in her chest that was noticeable even now. 

Paul looked back at Daryl, a clear ‘want to keep going?’ expression on his face. Daryl nodded and followed behind as they pushed through the doors and began moving farther down the hall. The nurse was definitely dead, a pool of dark, dried blood visible behind her head indicating an old head wound; it was a good thing too, because now that they were father in, they could hear the telltale groan of the dead. 

“Well, I guess it’s good it took us this long to run into some.” Paul whispered to Daryl. His eyes were wary, and Daryl could tell he was worried about what they might find. They didn’t have to go very far; they were almost to the end of the hall, and from the sounds, the two men could tell that the walkers were behind the closed door of the last room on the floor. Paul and Daryl glanced at each other, and moved to either side of the door, Daryl taking point. He looked to Paul once more, who already had a knife in hand, and pulled open the door. 

4 walkers spilled out. It was an easy take down, just like the rest of the ones they’d done so far, and soon they were standing amongst the downed bodies. Two were wearing nurse’s scrubs, while the others were in plain clothes – they’d probably been visiting when shit got bad. When Daryl looked up, Paul was still looking at the bodies, the earlier grin on his face still replaced by the grim expression. “They all have chest wounds,” he said, finally meeting Daryl’s eyes. “The one in the hall had one too.” When he finished speaking, he stepped over the body of one of the nurses and stepped into the room. He came out after a few seconds. 

“There are no weapons that I can see, but a lot of blood.” Daryl had stepped into the doorway when Paul had stepped out and could see what he meant. There were bloody shoe tracks everywhere, like someone had bled out and then walked through it again and again after they’d turned. “Whoever killed ‘em weren’t worried about ‘em comin’ back,” he said. When he exited the room, he saw that Paul had gone back to staring down at the bodies. He walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “We watch our asses, kay?” he said. “People’s was messed up before this shit, and they haven’t changed. We don’t gotta worry about why they did something, we just gotta make sure we’re not gon’ let Maggie and the rest walk into something. We clean the place out the best we can. That’s it.” Paul had turned to him during his little speech and has rested his head on Daryl’s shoulder. Daryl could tell he was smiling. “You’re being profound again,” he said. Daryl snorted and tipped Paul’s chin up for a kiss. It was soft and quick, but it was full of promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 31! I like this chapter quite a bit - I think it bridges thing together quite nicely. Please let me know what you guys think!


	32. Chapter 32

They decided to move the bodies back into the room they came from. The blood was long dried by now, so they didn’t have to worry about tracking any more of it around. From there, they started taking stock. Paul had somehow managed to steal the master keys from Daryl’s pocket – probably during the kiss – and had already started unlocking cabinets. He turned and winked at Daryl, “I’ve got these,” he said, “want to go have a peak at the rest of the rooms?” Daryl rolled his eyes but nodded anyways. 

He started with the closest ones, which were just across the way from where he could hear Paul rummaging around in the hall. Most of these doors had been left open, and from the looks of the rooms, it wouldn’t take much time to go through them. Closest doors were thrown open, cheap metal hangers and those plastic belongings dishes dumped out in someone’s haste to get out. There were moldy meal trays and vases full of rotted flowers, and a few of the rooms sported bloody sheets and used bandages. It took maybe 15 minutes to go through all the rooms and he headed back to Paul with a stethoscope and a lightweight pullover jacket for his troubles. 

When he rounded the corner back to the farthest end of the hall, Paul was bent over a large plastic bin and was rummaging through the contents. He looked up and smiled, “look at this,” he said. Looking over his shoulder, Daryl saw maybe 50 of those little lunchbox size water bottles. “They were at the bottom of the med cart,” Paul said. “All the seals are intact. They’ll be warm, but they’ll work to replenish what we’ve used from the convenience store.” 

Daryl had to smile back at him. “What else ya got?” he asked. If possible, Paul’s smile got even wider. “Tons of stuff,” he said. He got up and walked Daryl over to the other bins that were lined up against the far wall. He wasn’t lying – rolls of gauze and several boxes of large bandages, tons of over the counter pain relievers and fever reducers plus higher grades meds as well, antiseptic wipes, lotion, hand soap and sanitizer, medical gloves, and pieces of equipment like thermometers and more stethoscopes. It was a better haul then the department store. 

“Shit,” Daryl said, earning a laugh from Paul, “Maggie’ll be happier than a pig in shit.” That made Paul laugh even harder. “You said it,” he said, smiling fondly at the blush staining the older man’s cheeks. “She’ll be even happier when we get to maternity. We’ve pretty much cleaned this floor out, I say we head up there ASAP. She’s probably wearing a hole in the floor as we speak.” It was Daryl’s turn to laugh – Paul was right about that. If only it was that simple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 32 guys! This is a real short, yet reasonably lighthearted, one - just a bridge to the next chapter. Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Speaking of the next chapter, it's going to be divided into two parts but they'll be together, labeled as Chapter 33. There's also a warning that comes with it, and while I'm not normally into spoiling my own story, I think this one is important enough to do so. So, ye be warned: ***we see a pregnant walker. Now, I of course have no idea how that would physically work, but I'm assuming it would be the same as any other walker, considering we're talking about zombies here. 
> 
> If you'd like to skip the chapter, that's totally fine and I understand - it adds more to the plot of what's been going on at the hospital, but it's not vital that you read it to understand; I'll include a short chapter summary in the notes on the chapter itself so that you can just scroll past the content if you'd like.


	33. Chpater 33

The path to the 4th floor was as clear as the others had been; Daryl almost wished it wasn’t. Maybe it would have warned them. 

The main area of the maternity ward looked like a warzone. There were at least 10 bodies scattered around, mixed with various belongings and medical items, and that’s just what they could see after stepping through the door. Every single body had a chest wound, just like the 5 they saw on the floor below, and based on the bullet holes peppering the walls, they’d been put down in a hurry. If that wasn’t enough, there was also a long trail of now black blood leading further into the ward, behind the closed door; Paul cocked his head toward it and Daryl nodded, raising his bow. Both men crept forward, peered through the glass of the door, and stopped. 

Shuffling aimlessly toward them was what was once a pregnant woman. Her protruding stomach was clear to them, as were the bloody wounds in both her abdomen and chest. Even after everything he’d seen, the scene made Daryl want to turn and run; it seems that Paul was affected the same, because out of the corner of his eye, Daryl saw him turn and with his back against the door, he slid down to the floor with his head in his hands. 

“We can’t tell Maggie,” he said emphatically, looking up at Daryl with tears in his eyes. “We get the body out of here, or at least get it moved. She doesn’t need to see this.” Daryl nodded, put his hand on the back of the other man’s head in a comforting caress, and turned back to the door, “I’ll take care of it.”

*************************************************************************************************

Daryl did a quick search of the rest of the ward after putting down the walker; he didn’t want any more surprises. As soon as it was done, he went back to where Paul was still slouched against the door. “S’done,” he said softly, “I put ‘er in one off the rooms for now. Ain’t much we can do about the blood though.” As he spoke, Paul looked up. “Thank you,” he said, smiling weakly. He reached a hand out for Daryl to pull him up; he did, and as soon as the man was up, Daryl pulled him into a hug. Paul’s arms went around him easily, and they stayed like that for what seemed like forever. Eventually, Paul pulled away. “Seriously, thank you,” he repeated, “Hopefully we can get her out of here without Maggie getting nosy.” He chuckled weakly at his own joke and Daryl leaned forward to press a fond kiss to his forehead. “C’mon,” he said, “let’s get ta looking up here. Once we tell him, Rick should be able to keep her occupied for a few.” Paul nodded gravely; as if repaying the favor, he pressed a kiss to Daryl’s cheek as he walked passed him. Daryl followed him through the doors and couldn’t help but be glad that they were here to comfort each other. 

It was easy to see by just walking through the ward that there wasn’t much left. Whatever had gone down here had happened fast, but it was clear that the medical staff hadn’t given up trying to save people. Most of the cabinet doors had been thrown open, their contents spilled on the floor below. There were used tourniquets and towels scattered everywhere throughout the hall, and if Daryl were being honest, the rooms weren’t much better. The whole place reeked of death. 

“This floor is a bust,” Paul said from behind him. Daryl turned and saw him leaning in the doorway of the room Daryl was in; he was searching through a closet in the vain hope that something would turn up. “Yer tellin’ me,” he said. “You saw that shit out there. Not sure I wanna know what might be hiding up in the rest of this place.” As he finished, he heard Paul sigh. “Not tryin’ to depress ya.” 

Paul snorted at that. “I’m already depressed,” he said. “I think it’s obvious that the people who died out front were trying to protect their expecting mother. But it looks like the military or the police didn’t come through until after everyone was already dead. I’m not sure how bad it’ll be, but I agree with you, there’s definitely more where this came from,” he gestured back out into the hall were the bodies lay. “I was thinking we could move all of the bodies into one of the rooms, maybe mark it and lock it so that the others hopefully know to stay clear.” 

“I don’t know, man,” Daryl said in reply. “You said yerself how nosy Maggie is. I doubt a locked door is enough to keep ‘er out.” Paul snorted again. “You’re probably right,” he said. “And I hate to say this, but our best bet may be to tell Glenn. Not the whole story, just that he needs to keep Maggie out of one particular room. I think he’s smart enough to not argue.” Daryl didn’t really like the idea and he could tell that Paul didn’t either, but none of the options they had were good. “I mean, I’m not sure if only telling one person is going to work anyways,” Paul continued, “maybe we tell the whole group? But don’t specify – we can just tell them not to go into the marked room. Do you think that’ll work?” 

“May be better than telllin’ jus’ Glenn,” Daryl said, “Kid’s smart but he’s emotional. May get in the way of his head. We tell Rick and he can figur’ it out. He won’t want no one else moving past this floor until we clear ‘em anyhow, so he’ll have time.” When Daryl finished speaking, he looked up to see Paul nodding along with his words. Again, it wasn’t the best plan, but they both figured it was the only way they were going to get this done. Neither man spoke as they both began to walk down the hall, stooping over to pick up various bodies as they went. There wasn’t much they could do about the rest of the mess, but at least they could save the others from having to deal with it themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday guys, Chapter 33 here to quell the sadness of another weekend being over. Please be aware of the warning I added at the end of the previous chapter, and I've reiterated it here - **we see a pregnant walker in this chapter. It's not overly graphic, and if you've watched the show your at least familiar with the kind of gore I've included so far but if you'd prefer to skip over it, here's a short chapter summary so that you don't miss out: 
> 
> Daryl and Paul go to clear out the 4th floor, the maternity ward. They find several bodies, including one they don't want Maggie to see. After not finding much of use in the ward, they discuss it and determine that they'll tell Rick what they found and let him decide how he wants to handle telling the others (they're going to suggest telling them just the basics, no details, and then hiding the bodies in a specifically marked room).


	34. Chapter 34

By the time they were making their way back through, both Daryl and Paul were ready to call it a day. The talk with Rick had gone better than either of them had expected, but they didn’t envy the leader. 

“Shit.” That was all the man had said when they pulled him aside and told him the story of what they found on the fourth floor. They explained to him the thought they had about only telling the others strictly what they had to know, and he agreed readily. “They won’t like it,” he said, “but ain’t no way I’m bringing them in on all that. I’ll get it done.” 

There wasn’t much else that could be said, so while he went to speak with the others, Rick sent Daryl and Paul on their way to canvas the rest of the hospital. He shared their opinion that there might be something worse lurking up on the higher floors, and he wanted to make sure it was dealt with as quickly as possible. Rick told them that Maggie was already getting antsy, and he didn’t want either her or Glenn doing something they’d later regret. 

“I don’t blame her for being antsy,” Paul said as they climbed the stairs leading to the fifth floor. Daryl was glad for it – the man had been uncharacteristically quiet since their earlier discovery, and he was glad to hear his voice. “I’m sure Glenn is too, but I think this is the best way to do this. They may not be happy about not having all of the information, but I think they’ll recognize why we’re doing it.” 

“Hope ya right,” Daryl said. They had reached the landing to the fifth floor, and Paul turned around to face to Daryl. “So do I,” he said with a small smile. As Daryl joined him on the landing, Paul reached out to him; with his hands on Daryl’s hips, he pulled the older man in for a soft kiss. “If I have to do this, all the scouting and finding, I’m glad I have you with me.” Those words had Daryl ducking his head, and Paul chuckled at the blush staining his cheeks. “You’re a shit, ya know that?” Daryl asked. Paul laughed again and pressed another quick kiss to Daryl’s lips. “But I’m your shit.” Daryl snorted at that but didn’t deny it. Yeah, Paul Rovia was definitely his little shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 34! I totally forgot how short this chapter is; I'll post chapter 35 bright and early tomorrow morning to make up for it :)


	35. Chapter 35

The door to the fifth floor was closed, but a splatter of blood across the inside of the window painted a picture of what they might find inside. With a quick nod to Daryl, Paul crept forward and peered through the window. “Woah,” he exclaimed. Daryl moved in behind him and could clearly see the reason for his outburst. There was a gaping hole where the outside wall of the fifth floor used to be. Nearly the entire front portion off the wall was gone, and the men could see where it broke off in what must have been a powerful explosion. There was no movement from inside though, just a few scattered bodies they could see, so Paul carefully pushed open the door. 

As they entered the floor, the body closest to them raised its head, it’s mouth spread in a macabre grin, most of its teeth missing and black blood oozing from where its nose had once been. Daryl didn’t bother with the bow - a well-placed kick to the things head did the job. “These bodies are the same as the others,” Paul said. Daryl looked up to see Paul observing the bodies. “Chest wounds, and then head wounds, except for the one. I’m not sure why I expected anything different.” He sighed as he finished speaking, and Daryl could tell that the other man was as tired as he himself felt. “Let’s do the usual,” he said, “I’ll look for whatever I can find out here and in the cabinets in the back, you take the rooms.” Daryl found himself nodding, this was indeed their usual. 

This wing was the same as they others they’d cleared, so the layout was essentially the same: nurses station in the lobby, with rows of patient rooms leading to the back where most of the stock was kept. Daryl followed Paul as far as the first patient rooms and ducked into the first one with an open door. It was already far more promising than the floor below – a med cart had been pushed into the room, and since most of the draws were open, Daryl could see dozens of still intact pill jars. The first jar he pulled out was labeled as Penicillin, so he figured that alone would qualify it as a good haul. That wasn’t the only thing of use though, and after a few minutes, his bag was already loaded down. He went back into the hall just in time to see Paul walking to meet him. 

“Did you do better than I did?” he asked. Daryl held his bag out, “Yep, meds. Antibiotics.” Paul let out a low whistle. “You definitely did better than I did,” he said. “I got two boxes of band aids and half empty container of surgical supplies. At least the scalpels could come in handy.” Paul gestured to his own bag, signaling that he had with him what he found. Daryl nodded, “Well, rooms probably won’t have much in ‘em, but we’ll take a look before we move on.” Paul smiled, confirming he heard, and followed Daryl through the rest of the rooms. He’d been right, there wasn’t much left, but there were also no more bodies or walkers; Daryl hoped that was a good sign for floor number six. 

Just as they were walking back toward the lobby, a call rang out. “Daryl, Jesus?” it was Rick, standing in the lobby, looking through the hole in the side of the building. “Should I ask how it went?” he asked, his lips turned down in a deep frown. “Went alright,” Daryl said, “found some good meds, not much else. How’d it go with you?” 

Rick sighed. “About as well as we figured,” he said. “Everyone’s agreed to stay out of the room y’all mentioned, but they ain’t happy about it. I went down there and marked it with some tape we found, but I’m worried someone’s gonna get it in their head to check it out anyways. Probably be Glenn.” 

Paul mimicked Rick’s earlier sigh. “That’s who we’re worried about too.” He said, “I’m thinking though that Maggie will realize why we asked them to steer clear. She’s uptight right now, yes, but she’s also smart. If anyone can keep Glenn in line, it’s her.”

The two other men chuckled at that. “Hoping you’re right,” Rick said. “I got the others on the third right now checking out what y’all found. We’ll head up to four after, and if the rest is clear by then, I’m thinking about it calling it for the day. Send a couple folks back to grab those left at the convenience store and hole up here. That way we’ll have all hands going forward.” Daryl liked the sound of that – most of it done in one day, and no travel after nightfall. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Paul said with a smile. “We’ll take care of the last floor, and report back.” He snapped a salute at Rick and didn’t even bother waiting for Daryl before walking out in to the stairwell. Rick snorted. “Ya sure you wanna deal with that?” he asked with a smirk. Daryl snorted too, “Like we said earlier, he’s a shit but now he’s my shit.” 

Rick’s laughter followed Daryl out into the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 35 as promised! Quick side note for this, I realize that most medications in hospitals, and even in stores, don't have the generic names printed on the bottle. But since I don't know the sciency name for Penicillin off the top of my head, I figured using the common name would be easier for all of us lol  
>   
> Thanks as always for reading and letting me know what you think - comments make my day :)


	36. Chapter 36

Daryl was barely half way up the stairs when he saw Paul stopped dead on the sixth-floor landing. He looked shaken – Daryl didn’t like the way it looked on him. “Paul?” he called out tentatively. A pair of eyes snapped down to him, “Get up here,” he said. 

Daryl did as he was told and almost immediately wished he hadn’t. “Jesus Fuck,” he said. Paul was nodding along with the curse; not much else could be said. Written in blood, spanning nearly the entire wall and door, were the words “I KILLED THEM ALL,” in large, choppy letters. There were pools of blood on the floor as well, from droplets that had dripped down from the writing; the trails on the wall just added to the eeriness of the sight. 

“Of all of the things I thought would be waiting for us,” Paul said, a hitch in his voice, “this, did not cross my mind.” As he finished, he looked to Daryl. “I don’t hear anything, but that doesn’t mean it’s empty. And based on this message, I doubt it is.” 

Daryl nodded. “I’d say walkers. If the fuck who wrote this stabbed them folks down stairs, these ones probably ain’t dead yet.” While he was speaking, Paul’s eyes had gotten wider. “You know,” he said, “this is the psych ward, for the mental patients,” he pointed back at the door. “If someone went crazy up here, chances are it’ll be bad.” 

Daryl blew air out through his nose. “Fuck,” he repeated. “We still gotta go in.” He didn’t want to, but there was no way Daryl was going to let the rest of his family walk into this blind. He knew Paul wasn’t going to let it go either. “Bang on the door, get any walkers out front. I’ll go in first, you watch our backs.” As he finished speaking, he stepped closer to Paul and wrapped his arms around the smaller man. Paul’s eyes widened but softened as he realized what Daryl was doing. The hug lasted longer than Daryl originally intended, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “You with me?” he asked. Paul leant up and kissed him gently, his eyes shining with emotion. “Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 36! Short, Desusy chapter to end the day with but we're finally getting some answers! What's been going on in the hospital will be completely known once I post Chapter 37. I hope I surprise at least some of y'all - it's kinda cliché so maybe not lol 
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	37. Chapter 37

Daryl wrapped on the sixth-floor door with a heavy fist; Paul was right behind him, knife poised and ready. It was impossible to tell how many with as much blood covering the window as there was, but after just a few moments, several walkers were pushing against the door, blindly trying to reach what was beyond it. Daryl turned his head slightly to nod at Paul, who nodded and stepped back. Daryl did the same, and let the walkers push through onto the landing. 

There were 4 in all – what had previously been two men, one woman and a teenager. Paul easily took three out with his knives, while the fourth, the largest of them, lumbered toward Daryl. He didn’t bother with his bow this time either. He grabbed the thing by the one arm it had left and flung it down the stairs. It landed with a resounding ‘pop’ as blood and brains splattered on the floor beneath them. Both men were silent for a moment, and Daryl turned around to find Paul staring down the stairs with a bemused look on his face. “Well, that was dramatic,” he said. Daryl snorted, “Like your ninja shit ain’t.” The laugh that startled out of Paul at the comment was a sound that Daryl wanted to hear over and over again. 

The light mood however was short lived as both men remembered what they were supposed to be doing. The ominous message on the wall was enough to take the joy out of anything. 

“We stick together in there,” Daryl said, bringing them both back to the present, “no splittin’ up.” Paul nodded. “Agreed. Let’s go.”

Daryl stepped through the door with his bow raised – he wasn’t going to take chances this time. Paul was right behind, so close they were almost touching, and Daryl heard his sharp intake of breath as the sixth-floor lobby came into view. The floor was almost entirely covered in blood, the tile’s original color barely peeking out around the edges; there were sprays of it on the walls and even a few on the high ceiling. Daryl was so busy staring at the dried pools that he didn’t notice Paul had moved until he spoke. “Shit,” he said breathlessly. Daryl whipped around to see the other man behind the nurse’s station, staring down at the floor. “I think I know what happened.” 

Daryl had joined Paul by the time the other man finished speaking and he found himself staring at a hauntingly familiar sight. The note read “THE DEMONS ARE DEAD. SO AM I,” in the same blood splatter writing as that on the wall on the landing. Beside the writing was the one who presumably wrote it – a man, with blood streaking his face, a bite wound through his shoulder and a knife sticking out the side of his head, his hand still wrapped around the handle. 

“This answers the question of whether or not he was a psych patient.” Paul said. He stooped over the body to show Daryl what he meant; the man had an alarm hooked to the back of his hospital gown, the kind that went off when a door was opened. “Shit,” Daryl said, “I coulda told ya that without all the fancy shit.” 

Paul huffed. “Yeah, that’s the scary part,” he said. “I mean, I guess it could have been worse. I don’t hear any movement back there,” he motioned toward the back of the wing as spoke, “so chances are we’re in the clear. We’ll check it out, of course, see what may be left for supplies. I’ll be glad when we’re done here.” 

Daryl nodded. He knew it was getting later in the day, based on the sun light beginning to slant through the windows, but even if it wasn’t, Daryl wanted done with this place sooner rather than later. He knew they were going to stay there, permanently if they could help it, but he was willing to bet that no one would want to bunk up on the top few floors. 

“Let’s go check it out,” he said. Paul, like he knew what he was thinking, grinned at him. They walked away side-by-side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks! Chapter 37 and the answers to your questions! Please enjoy and let me know what you think!


	38. Chapter 38

They were pleasantly surprised by how much was left in the way of supplies. Like the floor below, the remaining med cart was full of high-quality medication and most of the cabinets were fully stocked; all the medical instruments had been cleaned out, and there were a few boxes of bandages that had fallen victim to the vast amount of blood spread throughout the floor, but all in all, most everything else was intact. Daryl and Paul worked together to take stock of everything, and by the time they were done, they had several large totes full of supplies. 

“I guess this makes it all worth it,” Paul said as he finished piling up the last items; they had moved the totes to the lobby, to make it easier for whoever had to move them later. “We should probably be the ones to come and get this stuff,” he continued, “I know we’re all familiar with blood by now, but this, this is a lot.” Daryl had to agree – it was enough to turn even a strong stomach. 

“We can see,” he said, “Our folks will be able to handle this, and Rick’s probably gonna wanna hunker down soon anyhow.” Paul nodded at his words. “Yeah, it’s going to be dark soon. And as hard as it may be to believe, I’m tired,” he said with a grin. Daryl rolled his eyes as he turned toward the door. “You ready to go find the others, sleepy?” he asked. Paul chuckled. “I never said sleepy, just tired. Or are you confusing me with sleeping beauty?” 

Their lighthearted bickering continued as they walked down the stairs. They didn’t hear anything as they walked past the fifth floor; Daryl figured they’d know if their group was present. This turned out to be true as they reached the fourth floor, where they could hear voices drifting out into the stairwell. Paul stopped and turned toward Daryl as they reached the landing. “I’m assuming we’d know by now if someone opened the door,” he said, meaning the door with the bodies they’d hidden earlier. Daryl was opening his mouth to reply when the door to the fourth floor burst open and Maggie came hurtling toward them. He assumed something was wrong until she nearly collided with him, wrapping her arms around him and smiling as widely as he’d ever seen. “Thank you,” she said, eyes brimming with tears. 

“For wha?” he asked. Maggie’s smile didn’t drop as she spoke. “For what y’all did,” she said. She detached herself from Daryl and pulled Paul into an equally strong hug. “Rick would only tell us so much, and at first I didn’t think I could stop myself from lookin’ but when I saw the floor in there, I knew you two were trying to save me from somethin’. So, thank you.” 

Daryl was glad that Maggie was looking at Paul as she spoke – it was easier for him to wipe his tears that way. He could tell that Paul was affected by her words as well, as he wiped his own face after Maggie stepped back. “Now,” she said, gathering herself after her emotional speech, “Rick sent Michonne, Aaron, Eric and Carl back to the convenience store to get the rest of our people. Hopefully with the 4 folks we sent, they’ll have enough arms to get all of our supplies back here. We’re going to hole up on the 3rd floor tonight, and then go get the rest of what y’all collected in the morning. We’re planning on finding another place or two around the town to place supplies, too and Rick is still set on finding a vehicle, so we’ll probably do some more scouting in the AM,” She sighed heavily as she finished speaking. “Seriously, you two, thank you for everything today,” she said with a soft smile, “Glenn and I are finishing up here, and the others are already on the floor below for the night. Go get settled, y’all deserve it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Morning Y'all! Chapter 38 coming at you bright and early because I literally have nothing else to do lol Next few chapters are just some fun Desusy goodness now that all the bad stuff is over. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think and as always, thank you so much for taking the time to read this!


	39. Chapter 39

Paul hadn’t let go of Daryl’s hand since they left Maggie on the fourth floor. They watched her walk back into the ward to go find Glenn and had stared after her probably longer than they should have; she was a sight to behold. 

They had just reached the third-floor landing when Paul pulled away. He faced Daryl and leaned in for a kiss; to Daryl’s credit, he wasn’t even surprised. “We did good today,” he said. Paul grinned back at him. “Damn right we did. And now, as Maggie said, I think we deserve a nap.” Daryl chuckled as Paul pulled him by his hand through the door and into the ward. He would never admit it, he was very ready for a good night’s sleep. 

They pushed through the door together and saw that quite a bit of work had already been done to make the floor seem more habitable. Most of the items they’d collected earlier in the day were now stacked up behind the nurses’ station, which had been pushed back a bit to make more room in the central space of the lobby. Most of the plastic chairs had been stacked up against one of the walls, with just a few left out for places to sit if needed; they weren’t very comfortable anyways. Candles were lined up in rows on the nurses’ station desk and on other surfaces, casting a warm glow through the increasingly dark ward. Through the window in the far wall, the men could see that the sun was nearly below the horizon now and Daryl was glad that they wouldn’t have to be in total darkness. 

After surveying the lobby, they walked through the double doors at the back the ward – the doors had been propped open with chairs, and they could hear voices and laughter drifting through them. When they reached the others, they could see why.

“Hey losers!” Tara hollered as they entered. She was holding what appeared to be a large bottle of vanilla flavored vodka. “Check out what we found!” Rosita snorted. “Excuse you, I found them,” she said. She grabbed a large cloth bag and showed the contents to Daryl and Paul. “The bottles had rolled under a bed in one of the patient rooms. Whoever brought ‘em must have been one hell of a partier.” Based on the amount and selection, Rosita’s words were probably an understatement – there were two more large bottles of vodka, three bottles of tequila and what must have been 5 or 6 bottles of high-end whiskey. Daryl whistled, pulling one of the bottles of whiskey out of the bag, “This is good shit,” he said. 

“I thought you’d feel that way,” a voice said from the doorway to one of the patient rooms. Daryl turned around to see Rick striding forward. “I just heard from Michonne. They’ve gathered everything up and are headed our way. I think this all calls for a celebration.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, happy chapter! Enjoy!


	40. Chapter 40

Nearly three hours later, after the others has returned, nearly everyone was buzzed as they all went off to their separate rooms for the night. While Daryl and Paul had been finishing up scouting the other floors, Rick and the others had cleaned out enough patient rooms for everyone to be able to have a bed for the foreseeable future. They were hospital beds, of course, but no one was going to complain.

He and Paul had just closed the door to their room when suddenly Daryl was pushed up against the door. He only had a brief flash of panic before a pair of lips were pressing urgently against his own. He smiled as he realized what was happening and responded to the kiss; as he did, he could feel Paul’s own grin against his lips. 

“There are perks to having our own room,” Paul said with a smirk as he leant away from Daryl. “I have to admit though, I don’t think I have much else in me tonight.” 

Daryl nodded. He hated himself for the wave of disappointment that rushed through him at Paul’s words, but he agreed nonetheless. “Me an’ you both, man,” he said. It didn’t stop him from wrapping his arms around the other man though, pulling him back into his chest. “Good thing cuddling don’t use any energy.” 

Paul laughed happily at this. “I don’t know, I feel like you’re probably a pretty aggressive cuddler.” Daryl swatted at him, and Paul’s laughter continued as he skittered away again so he could begin undressing for the night. Daryl was happy to see that Paul felt comfortable enough with both him and the situation to be less than fully clothed for the night; it was a rarity indeed. Daryl was calm enough as well to pull his shirt over his shoulder and to drop his grimy jeans to the floor. They’d been so close over the last few weeks that his scars weren’t anything Paul hasn’t seen before, and while it still made him nervous, he didn’t feel the need to hide them. 

After he picked his clothes off the floor, just to toss them onto an empty visitors’ chair that was in the room, Daryl turned back to the bed to see Paul watching him appreciatively. He couldn’t deny that he’d been watching the other man out of the corner of his eye, so he didn’t bother pointing it out. He climbed into bed without saying a word and he heard Paul sigh happily as they came together toward the middle of the mattress. “Just so you know,” Paul said, tilting his head up to look at Daryl, “I don’t believe in personal space when I sleep.” Daryl snorted. “You don’t believe in personal space period.” 

Paul just smiled. “You know me so well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 40 and some snuggly Desus goodness! We're so close to the end now guys - I'm currently planning to post the last two chapters on Monday. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think and as always, thank you for reading!


	41. Chapter 41

Daryl was sitting against the wall in the back hallway of the ward, the area the group was using as a main room, when Paul joined the land of the living. He didn’t sleep much so Daryl was always hesitant to wake him and based on how long he managed to sleep the previous night, he had definitely needed the rest. 

“Good Morning,” he said, walking directly over to Daryl. There were several others awake as well – Rick and Carl were rummaging through the food they’d brought from the gas station, while Rosita tinkered with an old radio they’d found in a bottom draw of one of the nurses’ station desks. They could hear others moving around as well, and soon enough everyone was back in the main room, save Michonne who could be heard trying to dress a fussy Judith. 

“Mornin’” Daryl replied, although it was more of a grunt than an actual word; he was never much of a morning person and now that he could actually relax a bit, he was taking full advantage of the time he had to wake up. Paul just chuckled.

“Alright y’all,” Rick said, straightening up and facing the group. Carl stood as well and started passing out various food stuffs to the group, granola bars and cans of fruit that they would be calling breakfast. “We’re going to take a take a few minutes to eat, then I wanna get started on the day. I want to take stock of the rest of the supplies we found yesterday and get them sorted as much as possible. We left a bag of supplies back at the convenience store, and I think we should find one more spot on this side of town to leave another bag or two. If we have to get out of here in a hurry, we’ll be leaving things behind no matter which way we go, but at least we’ll be prepared. I also want to check out the shed we spotted behind the building. I doubt they kept much other than grounds equipment out there, but you never know. Then there’s the matter of the highway.” He took a breath. “We need to scope it out, check for any major blockages and see if the way out of here is even passable. The highway isn’t something I want to try unless we have to, but we need to know what to except if that’s the only option we got.”

Daryl knew that Rick was right, but ever since Atlanta, he relished the idea of never having to see or clear a highway again. He could tell the others thought the same; he could see a lot of tense shoulders. Rick sighed as he continued. “I know,” he said, “I don’t want to send anyone out there cause I hate the idea of needing the route, but we can’t be boxed in. If something or someone comes at us from the way we came, this end of town will be our only option.” Heads began nodding as he trailed off, and Maggie spoke up for the first time that morning, “We’re with you, Rick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 41, last one before the end! It's a bit short, like some of my other chapters, but the group is rallying and I tried to make the ending as well-rounded as possible. I can't believe it's almost done! 
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Don't hesitate to drop comments or kudos :)


	42. Chapter 42

Daryl was glad to be outside – even though it was hot, the humidity levels inside the hospital had been stifling, and he was happy to be out of it for a while. He and Paul had volunteered to go scout the highway almost at the same time, nearly talking over each other, and while the resulting chuckle from the group has grated on his nerves, Daryl could admit to himself that he loved how in tune he and Paul were to each other. 

The shed out behind the building had been mostly a bust as Rick had predicated; other than a couple odd tools and some sturdy snow shovels, nothing else in there had been practical enough for their use. There was however a trail that led behind the shed. “This looks like it could be a highway access,” Paul said. Daryl was thinking the same thing; the trail led level for maybe 50 feet, and then appeared to curve upward into a rather steep hill. “This’d be better than coming at the highway from the off ramp. We should be able to see miles from up there.” 

Paul had walked a little ways ahead as Daryl was speaking, and turned around to face Daryl with a wide grin. “Should be pretty romantic, too,” he said. Daryl tutted as Paul laughed and together they started the walk up the trail. It became apparent rather quick that the hill was indeed steep, and after a few minutes, Daryl was having trouble keeping his footing. Paul kept looking back to him, as he was clearly the better climber, with a look on his face that made him seem torn between worry and amusement. Daryl tutted again. “I’s from Georgia,” he huffed, “flat as all hell.” 

Paul looked back at him again as he spoke and looked about to say something, but instead sucked in a sharp breath as he reached the crest of the hill. “Hot damn,” he breathed. Daryl joined him a few moments later and couldn’t stop a smile as he looked down on the highway. There was only one traffic snarl they could see, right near the highway exit to the hospital, cars parked and deserted as people no doubt tried to flee on foot. Other than that, though, the road was remarkably clear – a few walkers dotted the grassy areas between the lanes and there were some other scattered cars, but it was far less to deal with than Daryl had expected. “I honestly expected it to be bad,” Paul said, “with all of those bodies outside the hospital, I figured there would be miles of cars here rather than miles of empty space.” 

Daryl agreed with the sentiment and was starting to wonder why the area was so clear when he spotted them. “Look,” he pointed. 

Just past the blockage on the exit ramp, only possible to see from a certain angle due to the trees, were 5 large greyhound type busses. They were too far away to see for sure if they were empty, but there were no bodies or walkers in the area and the buses themselves looked intact. “They musta used ‘em to move all them people here,” Daryl said. Paul was nodding along with Daryl’s words. “I bet they blocked the way into the hospital parking lot and had people walk up instead. I saw it a lot at the beginning when hospitals and towns were still focused on attempted infection control.” 

Daryl had seen it too, while he and Merle had been making their way to the outskirts of Atlanta, and suddenly he was glad that Rick had them come take a look. “Bet we could get one of them buses workin’ too,” he said. Paul turned his head and grinned, like he’d been thinking the same thing. “Come on, let’s go down. I want to see how much we can make everyone love us.” 

Daryl snorted a laugh as he followed Paul back down the hill. When they reached the bottom though, the other man had stopped. “Whatsa matter?” he asked. Paul smiled at him. “Nothing,” he said, “Not a thing.” 

With that, Daryl reached out to grab Paul’s hand and returned the man’s soft smile. He knew what Paul meant – even if there were walkers down there, or any other manner of obstacles, nothing would stand in the way of their family surviving. And they wouldn’t just survive, they’d live. Maggie and Glenn could have their baby in relative peace and safety; Rick and Michonne could take a breather and let their kids be kids for at least a while; and Daryl figured that they’d now be able to find a way to get word to Carol and the Kingdom. It wasn’t perfect, and it never world be, but that didn’t really matter much. Daryl knew that as long as he had this group, he’d survive, and that as long as he had Paul, he’d live. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it folks, Chapter 42 and the end of What Draws us Together! Ahh, it's over! I want to thank everyone who's read this story - it's been a labor of love, a 6-month long process, and I'm so glad that even one person has liked it enough to spend their time on the whole thing! Those who've commented get a little extra pat on the head as well; I've enjoyed seeing what y'all think and I'll happily reply to anyone who leaves a last comment on this chapter :) 
> 
> Now, a bit of an update on what I've been doing since I've finished this. You can expect to see a one-shot pop up within the next few weeks. It's Desus but it's a separate story. It's more lighthearted than this one as a whole, and I couldn't shake the idea so just had to write it. 
> 
> I'm also writing another long fic. It takes place within The 100 fandom but it's going to be a Zombie Apocalypse AU - I'm not sure how many of you are also familiar with The 100 (TV show, not the book), but if you are, you'll know what I mean when I say it's a Mackson (yass!) story with the main story focusing on the group. It's going to be Slow Burn and depending on how it goes, it may end up being longer than this one. I'm not sure when I'll be posting it, as I just started it within the last week, but it's going pretty well so far and I won't be upset if any of you want to keep an eye out for it ;) 
> 
>    
> I think that's it! Thanks again everyone! TiredMage, signing off for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: these characters belong to the creators, I'm just playing with them.


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